Effect of Environment-Like Amount and Environment-Like Shaped PET-microparticles (3-7 µm) on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris

Abstract

The amount of plastic particles in the environment is constantly increasing, with the amount of deposition being highest in terrestrial ecosystems [1], from where the plastics then flow into the world's oceans [2]. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is an important photosynthetic model organism for ecotoxicological purposes. Recently, the importance of this alga in biotechnology and green industry has begun to grow. Chlorella vulgaris , on the other hand, is a very interesting dietary supplement. Here we describe the data obtained by exposing these algae to PET microparticles (1-5 μm in diameter). At the same time, research into plastic micro/nano-particles is increasingly emphasizing the analysis of 'natural' particles (i.e. not industrial templates in the shape of a perfect sphere – especially polystyrene templates), [3]. In addition, many studies use non-physiological amounts of particles that are not found in the environment [4]. In this work, we focus on the effect of environment-like amount and environmental-like shape of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) microparticles on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris . The synthesis of the particles (3-7 µm) was carried out according to article [5] from particles with a size of 125-500 μm in trifluoroacetic acid. The result was a solution of