Review of ecotoxicological studies of widely used polystyrene nanoparticles

Abstract

With polystyrene nanoparticles being widely used in various applications, there is a great need for deeper knowledge on the safety, fate and biological effects of these particles on both individual living organisms and the whole ecosystems.

Defining Quality Criteria for Nanoplastic Hazard Evaluation: The Case of Polystyrene Nanoplastics and Aquatic Invertebrate Daphnia spp.

“…Compared to organism characterization and test parameters, much lower scores were found for physico-chemical properties of nanoPS. This result was in line with a previous review [ 2 ]. The data on impurities and additives, which are considered mandatory, are a bottleneck (only 36 % of studies reported impurities or additives, respectively).…”

“…Global plastic pollution and the detection of micro- and nanoplastic particles in almost all environmental compartments and geographic regions has fuelled research into the possible effects of these particles on environmental organisms. One specific research question is whether nanoplastic particles exert specific and/or enhanced effects in organisms in comparison to microplastics [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. However, studies have reported different conclusions regarding this question.…”

“…However, it remains to be elucidated which size classes need specific attention for hazard evaluation, and whether additional particle characteristics play a role in hazardous effects. For example, it has been pointed out that current methodological approaches of nanoPS ecotoxicity testing have pitfalls, particularly regarding the particle additive consideration and other characteristics of the particles [ 2 , 6 ].…”

Aging Processes Dramatically Alter the Protein Corona Constitution, Cellular Internalization, and Cytotoxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics

“…As a one of the most used plastics, PS NPs was selected as the representative model. , The morphologies and structures of pristine and aged NPs were observed with SEM. The pristine PS NPs were spherical in shape with smooth surfaces.…”

“…Humans may be exposed to NPs via inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact, thus posing a great threat to human health. , It was reported that NPs have various adverse effects, including mortality, developmental toxicity, endocrine toxicity, immunotoxicity, and genotoxicity. , Clearly, the aging process will dramatically affect the physicochemical properties of NPs and in turn affect their cytotoxicity . However, it is largely unknown how aging processes alter the biological/toxicological characteristics of NPs.…”