Abstract
Several studies have provided information on environmental nanoplastic particles/debris, but the in vitro cyto-genotoxicity is still insufficiently characterized. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of polystyrene nanoparticles (PNPs) in the Hs27 cell line. The viability of Hs27 cells was determined following exposure at different time windows and PNP concentrations. The genotoxic effects of the PNPs were evaluated by the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay after exposure to PNPs. We performed ROS analysis on HS27 cells to detect reactive oxygen species at different times and treatments in the presence of PNPs alone and PNPs added to the Crocus sativus L. extract. The different parameters of the CBMN test showed DNA damage, resulting in the increased formation of micronuclei and nuclear buds. We noted a greater increase in ROS production in the short treatment times, in contrast, PNPs added to Crocus sativus extract showed the ability to reduce ROS production. Finally, the SEM-EDX analysis showed a three-dimensional structure of the PNPs with an elemental composition given by C and O. This work defines PNP toxicity resulting in DNA damage and underlines the emerging problem of polystyrene nanoparticles, which extends transversely from the environment to humans; further studies are needed to clarify the internalization process.
Highlights
Global plastic production to date is highly related to the environmental pollution by plastic materials [1]
The different aspects of toxicity regarding microplastics have been found in different environmental organisms [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]
The upper dimensional limit of nanoplastics goes from a minimum of 100 nm to a maximum of 1000 nm [13,14,15]
Summary
Global plastic production to date is highly related to the environmental pollution by plastic materials [1]. The different aspects of toxicity regarding microplastics have been found in different environmental organisms [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Plastics are synthetic or semi-synthetic polymeric materials obtained from natural components such as cellulose, oil, and coal that are used in the most disparate products for their manageability and their rapid production. They are excellent insulators, resistant to corrosion and degradation, which are not optimal for the fate of the environment. The most important and used material is polystyrene: an aromatic polymer formed by styrene and petrochemical derivatives including packaging, electronic, and household products
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