Abstract
Plastics undergo successive fragmentation and chemical leaching steps in the environment due to weathering processes such as photo-oxidation. Here, we report the effects of leachates from UV-irradiated microplastics towards the chlorophyte Scenedesmus vacuolatus. The microplastics tested were derived from an additive-containing electronic waste (EW) and a computer keyboard (KB) as well as commercial virgin polymers with low additive content, including polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). Whereas leachates from additive-containing EW and KB induced severe effects, the leachates from virgin PET, PP, and PS did not show substantial adverse effects in our autotrophic test system. Leachates from PE reduced algae biomass, cell growth, and photosynthetic activity. Experimental data were consistent with predicted effect concentrations based on the ionization-corrected liposome/water distribution ratios (Dlip/w) of polymer degradation products of PE (mono- and dicarboxylic acids), indicating that leachates from weathering PE were mainly baseline toxic. This study provides insight into algae toxicity elicited by leachates from UV-weathered microplastics of different origin, complementing the current particle- vs. chemical-focused research towards the toxicity of plastics and their leachates.Graphical abstract
Highlights
Interactions between plastic debris and biota have been reported for diverse taxa at different trophic levels [1]
Our previous research demonstrated that effects of plastic leachates on a cellular level may be induced by plastic degradation products solely, i.e., largely excluding effects of intentionally added plastic additives that may leach from the test material [17]
To obtain further insights into the mode of action (MoA) of leachates from UV-weathered microplastic, we investigated whether polymer degradation products previously identified as PE degradation products by Gewert et al [20] have the potential to explain the observed algae toxicity
Summary
Interactions between plastic debris and biota have been reported for diverse taxa at different trophic levels [1]. Included was microplastic generated from a key board (KB), which was expected to contain chemical mixtures of additives, based on detectable effects of KB leachates in reporter gene assays [17]. Our previous research demonstrated that effects of plastic leachates on a cellular level may be induced by plastic degradation products solely, i.e., largely excluding effects of intentionally added plastic additives that may leach from the test material [17]. To further investigate the ecotoxicological relevance of these plastic leachates, in vivo, in this study, we test the potency of these leachates to induce adverse effects towards ecologically important low-trophic level representatives: microalgae. Microalgae are representative primary producers that provide important ecosystem functions
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