Microplastics and nanoplastics最新文献

Background: The environmental presence of airborne micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) raises concerns about their impact on the development and progression of respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this study, we investigated the potential toxicity of amorphous, environmentally relevant MNPs in primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC) exposed at the air-liquid interface (ALI).

Methods: Differentiated PBEC cultures from COPD donors (n = 3) and non-COPD donors (n = 3) were exposed for 24 h to polyvinylchloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), or polyamide-6,6 (PA) MNPs (> 75% of particles < 1 μm) via small droplet application. Cytotoxicity, inflammation, cellular composition, morphology and integrity of the epithelial barrier as well as antioxidant and autophagy-related processes were assessed by a combination of lactate dehydrogenase leakage, IL-8 secretion, transmission electron microscopy and gene expression analyses.

Results: All PBEC cultures formed an intact epithelial barrier. However, transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and transcript levels of tight junction protein Claudin 4 were lower (FC = 0.36, p = 0.02) in COPD-PBEC versus non-COPD PBEC. Although with some inter-donor variability, MNPs did not induce profound cytotoxicity or inflammation. However, PA MNPs (3 µg/cm²), decreased expression of Zonula Occludens-1 (FC = 0.76, p = 0.01), Occludin (FC = 0.75, p = 0.03) and modulated cell-type specific genes in COPD-PBEC, suggesting (early) epithelial barrier disruption. Additionally, differential regulation of transcript levels of antioxidant, apoptotic and autophagy genes was observed between COPD and non-COPD in response to PVC and PA.

Conclusion: These results indicate that MNP exposure, especially PA, can induce (sub)toxic effects in PBEC, with substantial inter-donor variability. Whether this impacts COPD development remains to be studied.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43591-025-00166-1.

Degradation of plastic waste in the environment induces the formation of plastic particles, that can be either microplastics (MPs, < 5 mm) or nanoplastics (NPs, < 1000 nm). Their presence poses an emerging concern for environmental and human health, but the scale of the risk remains unknown due to the various challenges in their proper detection and identification. Fluorescence-based analytical methods are commonly employed for toxicological and/or exposure model studies, as well as environmental studies. Aiming at researchers assessing the effect and behaviour of NPs within exposure and imaging studies, this review critically explores different strategies for using or synthesizing fluorescent NPs, starting with highlighting relevant overlap from fluorescent MP work, to identifying current knowledge and methodological gaps. Unfortunately, the prevailing strategies for obtaining fluorescent NPs, especially using commercially available polystyrene (PS) beads and dye loading synthesis routes, are inadequate and not representative of environmental NPs, although in recent years promising alternatives have been provided. For that reason, we recommend various approaches for making fluorescent model NP particles. The article ends with concluding remarks and an outlook on the challenges in NP detection, with a suggested "roadmap" to aid the reader in determining the ideal approach of making or using fluorescent NPs in their own field of application.

Rubber materials enter aquatic environments by stormwater runoff via sources such as playground mulch, athletic fields, and roadway surfaces. Tire rubbers are considered plastics as they are comprised of a substantial portion of synthetic polymers. Rubber particles are complex and variable depending on the type, source, and age of rubber. In this study, zebrafish embryos and daphnids were exposed to nano-scale or micro-scale particles, or leachate from recycled rubber (RR), crumb rubber (CR), and cryo-milled tire tread (CMTT). Zebrafish embryos were evaluated for lethal and sub-lethal effects over a 120-h exposure, while daphnids were tested over a 48-h period. Nano-scale RR, CR, and CMTT particles elicited a hatch delay in zebrafish embryos with similar EC₅₀ values (1.3 × 10⁹ - 1.4 × 10⁹ particles/mL). Micro-scale particles did not elicit any significant effects in developing zebrafish. Nano-scale particles of all rubber materials significantly increased hatch delay compared to leachate, suggesting an adverse nanoparticle effect unexplained by chemical leaching alone, indicating tire particle-specific effects. Daphnia RR micro- and nanoparticle exposures resulted in mortality, with LC₅₀ values of 9.8 × 10⁵ microparticles/mL and 5.0 × 10⁸ nanoparticles/mL, respectively. Leachate exposures did not elicit significant Daphnia mortality. Sublethal micro- and nano-TP exposures significantly decreased microalgae ingestion by Daphnia after 24-h. The effects of tire-derived exposures observed pose a risk to aquatic organism survival at environmentally relevant concentrations.

Evidence of nano- and microplastic particles being present in the human body has increased in recent years, yet there is no acceptable methodology to perform a human health risk assessment for these particles because of limitations in the exposure and hazard assessments. Exposure assessment can be improved by establishing comprehensive and justifiable exposure scenarios for a defined exposure demographic, thoroughly describing the relevant exposure pathways, and performing multidimensional data alignment, thereby facilitating probabilistic estimates of nano- and microplastic particle exposure. General considerations of exposure scenarios are outlined, along with specifics details on the complexity and prioritization for nine demographic groups: adults; women; the elderly; individuals with disease; individuals employed in high-hazard occupations; and children demographics, including early infants, toddlers, school children, and teenagers. Recommendations to advance exposure assessments and scenarios are also provided which suggest: i) the use of well-defined exposure scenarios for demographics that are prioritized according to their level of complexity and concern; ii) a thorough description of relevant activity factors (physiological parameters, behavioural traits) and exposure factors (duration, frequency, media characterization) for the chosen demographic; iii) thorough descriptions of exposure via ingestion and inhalation, and in the case of early infants, including exposure via maternal transfer; iv) multidimensional data alignment and probabilistic methods to enable credible comparisons of exposure data across studies and inform physiologically based toxicokinetic models to estimate internal exposure.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43591-025-00134-9.

The presence of micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) in our environment, food and drinking water has raised public concern due to inevitable human exposure. MNPs can be intentionally added to products or formed from plastics through fragmentation in the environment. Macrophages may become activated upon encountering MNPs, potentially triggering inflammation. However, this process, particularly in response to fragmented MNPs, remains poorly understood. This study aims to investigate whether fragmented MNPs have cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory effects on human macrophages. We examined the immunotoxic effects of mechanically degraded secondary polyvinylchloride, polypropylene and polyamide particles (PVC, PP; < 1 μm and 1-5 μm, PA6.6; 1-5 µm), in addition to primary polystyrene beads (PS; 0.05, 0.2 and 1 μm) and titanium dioxide particles (TiO₂; < 0.1 μm) on human THP-1 macrophages. After up to 24 h of exposure to 1, 10 and 100 μg/ml, uptake was determined through flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, and effects on macrophages were measured by assessing lysosomal activity, mitochondrial activity, lactate dehydrogenase leakage, NF-κB activity and cytokine secretion. PS particles were taken up by macrophages in a concentration-, time-, and size-dependent manner based on particle mass. Additionally, MNPs increased lysosomal activity, suggesting potential accumulation of the particles. Fragmented MNPs induced a decrease in mitochondrial activity and an increase in LDH leakage depending on concentration, specifying their cytotoxic potential. However, at these levels, they did not significantly induce NF-κB activity and cytokine production (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α). Our findings suggest a lack of a direct pro-inflammatory response by macrophages to fragmented MNPs of various polymer types. However, higher exposure concentrations induced cytotoxicity, which may indirectly influence immune system functioning. This work emphasizes the importance of studying environmentally relevant MNPs to provide deeper insights into potential health impact of physico-chemically altered MNPs.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43591-025-00138-5.

Socio-oceanography is an emerging field which mobilises insights from natural and social sciences to explore the inter-connectedness of societal relationships with the ocean and to adopt a holistic approach to solving key oceanographic and societal challenges. It is within this specific context that we explore and reflect upon diverse communities in relation to engaging with plastic pollution in the ocean, one of the foremost socio-environmental challenges of our time. We establish definitions of 'community', arguing that communities are not 'out there' waiting to be engaged with but are dynamic and (re)constituted in four key contexts - geographical, practical, virtual, and circumstantial. We outline some 'rules of engagement' and draw upon several international case studies in the context of plastic pollution to evidence and emphasise the value of working with members of diverse communities to better address socio-oceanographic challenges. In the context of plastic pollution, communities have a vital role to play in terms of co-creating knowledge, lived experience, diverse expertise, and agency to bring about social change. Given the ubiquity of plastics in our day-to-day lives, and subsequently as an environmental pollutant, no community is unaffected by this issue. Relating to socio-oceanography, we argue that structural power imbalances in terms of how diverse communities and natural scientists are traditionally positioned within academic research mean that 'formal' scientific knowledge is frequently privileged, and members of communities risk being positioned as 'empty vessels'. Moving away from this 'deficit' model where knowledge is simply transferred or alternatively extracted from communities allows us to progress towards an inclusive 'socio-oceanography in society' approach, where members of communities are valued as vital in prioritising and addressing socio-oceanography issues which affect everyday life. Accessibility, openness, ethics and fairness in data are also essential in ensuring that research outcomes can be applied widely outside the academic community.

Graphical abstract:

Quantification of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in human samples is essential for accurately assessing human exposure and understanding the potential health impacts of these pervasive pollutants. Blood plays a key role in revealing potential MNPs exposure and its health impacts. The detection of MNPs in human blood, however, is analytically challenging due to the complex composition of the sample and the limited availability of sensitive analytical methods. Pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) using Selected Ion Monitoring (SIM) has been widely used to quantify MNPs in human blood. In this work the analytical approach was improved by employing full scan data acquisition. The mass concentration of six polymers widely used in plastic materials - poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) - was determined in 102 human whole blood samples. Rigorous QA/QC measures were established which are essential for ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the method. Limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 14 ng/mL (PP) to 245 ng/mL (PE). The recoveries of the quantitation compounds ranged from 52 to 102%. MNPs were detected in all the samples investigated with PVC as the most frequently detected polymer (99% of all samples). For 20% of samples, the concentration was above the limit of quantification (LOQ) with an average total concentration of 386 ng/mL. The analysis of MNPs in human blood is relevant for future research to understand the pathways of MNP absorption, accumulation, and potential health risks associated with exposure to plastic pollutants. The use of full scan data acquisition enabled simultaneous ion monitoring allowing for more careful selection of quantitation compounds and provides the potential for retrospective data analysis.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43591-025-00152-7.

Background: Knowledge of the toxicological impact of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) on the human airway epithelium is limited and almost exclusively based on experiments applying high doses of spherical polystyrene (PS) particles. In this study, we investigated the toxicity of a broad size range of amorphous MNPs generated from different environmentally-relevant polymers.

Methods: Bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) were exposed to three different doses of polyvinylchloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), or polyamide (PA) particles (< 1 μm-10 μm), as well as leachates from these polymers. Toxicity was evaluated by assessment of cytotoxicity, inflammation (IL-8 release and inflammatory gene expression) and oxidative stress (DCFH-DA assay and antioxidant gene expression). Furthermore, the molecular mechanism behind MNP-induced inflammation was investigated by studying activation of two well-known inflammation related transcriptional factors (NF-κB and AP-1).

Results: Only PA nanoplastics induced significant cell death, IL-8 secretion and inflammatory gene expression compared to vehicle control. PA-induced inflammation was accompanied by NF-κB, but not AP-1, transcriptional activity. PA did not increase cellular ROS levels; however, it did lead to increased expression of the antioxidant gene superoxide dismutase 2. In addition to PA, exposure to < 1 µm and 1-5 µm PP particles resulted in elevated IL-8 secretion, likely due to the presence of talc added as filler. None of the leachates affected cytotoxicity or inflammation.

Conclusion: Toxicity of MNPs to human bronchial epithelial cells was dependent on polymer type, size and dose. Nanoplastics, especially PA, were more toxic to bronchial epithelial cells than microplastics and induced cytotoxicity and an inflammatory response.

Graphical abstract:

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43591-025-00126-9.

In 2021 the Toxicity of Microplastics Explorer (ToMEx, https://microplastics.sccwrp.org) was released as an open source, open access database and web application for microplastics toxicity. Since then, it has been utilized by the microplastic research community for the exploration, visualization, and analysis of toxicity data for both hazard characterization and risk assessment. The peer-reviewed literature has continued to grow exponentially, making ToMEx out-of-date. To ensure the continued utility of ToMEx, an international crowd-sourcing approach was utilized to update ToMEx by extracting data from additional studies published since the original release. Through this process, both the aquatic and human health ToMEx databases roughly doubled in size, and modest increases in data diversity (e.g., number of species represented, types of test particles) were observed in the aquatic organisms database. However, most trends (e.g., greater toxicities observed with smaller particle sizes, lack of dose-response data etc.) observed in the first iteration of ToMEx remained constant. A previously developed framework for deriving ecological health-based microplastic thresholds using species sensitivity distributions was reapplied to determine how thresholds and their associated uncertainty intervals would change following the database update. Twelve new studies passed minimum screening criteria and were deemed fit for the purpose of threshold derivation. The addition of new data allowed for the separation of freshwater and marine compartments which had previously been combined due to a lack of applicable toxicity data for freshwater species. When molecular and cellular level endpoints were included, freshwater thresholds were comparable or increased from values calculated using previous data (-5 to 2.5-fold change) whereas marine thresholds dramatically decreased (-5000 to -29-fold change). However, when endpoints were restricted to organism and above, marine and freshwater thresholds were comparable to those calculated previously (-20 to 14-fold change). Confidence intervals for both marine and freshwater thresholds remained wide. The doubling of the database increases the value of ToMEx for researchers, particularly those focused on characterizing hazards associated with microplastics. Its utility remains limited for environmental managers as 89% of studies in ToMEx 2.0 failed to meet minimum screening criteria for threshold derivation, highlighting the need to generate fit-for-purpose toxicity data for threshold development. However, ToMEx continues to be a useful research tool, and future iterations could become even more powerful through novel artificial intelligence applications to streamline data curation and even predict toxicological outcomes.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43591-025-00145-6.