Insights into the removal of polystyrene nanoplastics using the contaminated corncob-derived mesoporous biochar from mining area

Removal of polystyrene nanoplastics from water by Cu[sbnd]Ni carbon material: The role of adsorption

Combined effects of bacteria and antibiotics on surface properties and transport of nanoplastics in porous media

Influence of natural organic matters on fate of polystyrene nanoplastics in porous media

The widespread distribution of nanoplastics and nanomaterials in aquatic environments is of great concern. Nanoplastics have been found to modulate the toxicity of other environmental pollutants in organisms, while few studies have focused on their influences on nanomaterials. Thus, this study evaluated the influences of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics on the toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos, including acute toxicity, oxidative stress, apoptosis, immunotoxicity, and metabolic capability. The results showed that the presence of PS nanoplastics could act as a carrier of the co-existing AgNPs in waters. The release ratio of Ag+ from AgNPs was up to 4.23%. The lethal effects of AgNPs on zebrafish embryos were not significantly changed by the co-added PS nanoplastics. Whereas, the alterations in gene expression related to antioxidant and metabolic capability in zebrafish (sod1, cat, mt2, mtf-1, and cox1) caused by AgNPs were significantly enhanced by the presence of PS nanoplastics, which simultaneously lowered the apoptosis and immunotoxicity (caspase9, nfkβ, cebp, and il-1β) induced by AgNPs. It suggests the presence of PS nanoplastics suppressed the AgNPs-induced genotoxicity in zebrafish. The released Ag+ from AgNPs may be responsible for the toxicity of AgNPs in zebrafish, while the subsequent absorption and agglomeration of AgNPs and the released Ag+ on PS nanoplastics may alleviate the toxicity.

Exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics induces an anxiolytic-like effect, changes in antipredator defensive response, and DNA damage in Swiss mice.

Every year, large quantities of plastics are produced and used for diverse applications, growing concerns about the waste management of plastics and their release into the environment. Plastic debris can break down into millions of pieces that adversely affect natural organisms. In particular, the photolysis of micro/nanoplastics can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, their oxidative roles in initiating redox chemical reactions with heavy and transition metals have received little attention. In this study, we investigated whether the photolysis of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics can induce the oxidation of Mn2+(aq) to Mn oxide solids. We found that PS nanoplastics not only produced peroxyl radicals (ROO•) and superoxide radicals (O2•-) by photolysis, which both play a role in unexpected Mn oxidation, but also served as a substrate for facilitating the heterogeneous nucleation and growth of Mn oxide solids and controlling the formation rate and crystalline phases of Mn oxide solids. These findings help us to elucidate the oxidative roles of nanoplastics in the oxidation of redox-active metal ions. The production of ROS from nanoplastics in the presence of light can endanger marine life and human health, and affect the mobility of the nanoplastics in the environment via redox reactions, which in turn may negatively impact their environmental remediation.

Sinensetin mitigates polystyrene nanoplastics induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats: A biochemical and histopathological study

Raman spectra characterization of size-dependent aggregation and dispersion of polystyrene particles in aquatic environments

Co-existing of polystyrene-nano plastics (PSNPs) and arsenic (As) in the environment caused a horrendous risk to human health. However, the potential mechanism of PSNPs and As combination induced testicular toxicity in mammals has not been elucidated. Therefore, we first explore the testicular toxicity and the potential mechanism in male Kunming mice exposed to As or/and PSNPs. Results revealed that compared to the As or PSNPs group, the combined group showed more significant testicular toxicity. Specifically, As and PSNPs combination induced irregular spermatozoa array and blood-testis barrier disruption. Simultaneously, As and PSNPs co-exposure also exacerbated oxidative stress, including increasing the MDA content, and down-regulating expression of Nrf-2, HO-1, SOD-1, and Trx. PSNPs and As combination also triggered testicular apoptosis, containing changes in apoptotic factors (P53, Bax, Bcl-2, Cytc, Caspase-8, Caspase-9, and Caspase-3). Furthermore, co-exposed to As and PSNPs aggravated inflammatory damage characterized by targeted phosphorylation of NF-κB and degradation of I-κB. In summary, our results strongly confirmed As + PSNPs co-exposure induced the synergistic toxicity of testis through excessive oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation, which could offer a new sight into the mechanism of environmental pollutants co-exposure induced male reproductive toxicity.

Nanoplastics are persistent environmental pollutants with potential risks to human health. Due to their small size, nanoplastics are internalized by macrophages, potentially altering their function. In this study we found that, in macrophages, 50 nm polystyrene nanoplastics were predominantly present in endosomes, lysosomes, and in the endoplasmic reticulum. Internalization of polystyrene nanoplastics increased the bactericidal activity of macrophages, which was inhibited by the NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium. Consistently, measurements of cellular and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species by flow cytometry revealed that polystyrene nanoplastics induced reactive oxygen species production in macrophages. In contrast, internalization of polystyrene nanoplastics reduced the levels of nitric oxide released by macrophages in response to E. coli. Internalization of polystyrene nanoplastics followed by the addition of E. coli induced high expression levels of the aconitate decarboxylase 1 gene. In the absence of this gene, killing of E. coli by macrophages exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics was significantly attenuated with respect to control macrophages, indicating a role for the mitochondrial metabolite itaconate in the increased bactericidal activity of macrophages exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics. Collectively, our results indicate that exposure of macrophages to polystyrene nanoplastics increases their bactericidal activity through the production of reactive oxygen species and of itaconate.

BACKGROUNDThe environmental problems caused by microplastics are becoming increasingly serious with the widespread use of plastic products. This study utilized lignin‐modified preparation of spontaneous magnetic sludge‐based biochar (LC@SRBC) to remove Polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs).RESULTThe quasi‐second‐order adsorption kinetics model, and the SIPs adsorption isothermal model exhibited excellent agreement with the experimental data, the Theoretical saturation adsorption capacity of 406.68 mg/g was found at the 500 °C‐pyrolyzed LC@SRBC. The effects of different factors on the efficiency of PSNPs removal by adsorbents were analyzed in detail, and the final PSNPs removal rate reached 97.87% in 30 min. We believe that the electrostatic effect is the main factors affecting the removal effect of PSNPs. With the increase of pH value, the potential difference between PSNPs and the surface of adsorbent increases, and the electrostatic repulsion is strengthened, which leads to a significant decrease in the adsorption capacity. Furthermore, the presence of metal nanoparticles on the LC@SRBC surface promoted the formation of metal‐O‐PSNPs and oxygen‐containing functional groups, which enhanced its adsorption capacity for PSNPs. Meanwhile, the spontaneous magnetism of the adsorbent is utilized for solid–liquid separation, avoiding the influence of filtration on the experimental effect.CONCLUSIONIn summary, the present study found that the preparation of adsorbent materials from the resource utilization of red mud solid wastes is effective for the removal of polystyrene from water. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

Algal EPS modifies the toxicity potential of the mixture of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) and triphenyl phosphate in freshwater microalgae Chlorella sp.

Different pollutants often coexist in natural environments, making it crucial to monitor and study the ecotoxicological effects of composite pollutants in aquatic environments. Nanoplastics and heavy metals are emerging environmental pollutants that can affect the health of aquatic organisms and threaten human health via the food chain. In this study, zebrafish was employed as a model organism to explore the effects of short-term exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and heavy metal copper ions (Cu2+) either individually or in combination on fish behavior. First, the single and combined toxicity of Cu2+ and PS-NPs to adult zebrafish was investigated to obtain the LC50 values of the two pollutants at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. Then, the effects of sub-lethal concentrations of Cu2+ (0.06, 0.15, and 0.3 mg/L), PS-NPs (5, 10, and 15 mg/L) and binary mixtures containing Cu2+ and PS-NPs (0.06 mg/L + 10 mg/L, 0.15 mg/L + 10 mg/L, and 0.3 mg/L + 10 mg/L) on the swim speed and individual distance of zebrafish within 4 h were studied. The results show that the LC50 value for single exposure of zebrafish to Cu2+ decreased with the increase in the exposure time, while PS-NPs showed no significant acute toxicity to zebrafish when the concentration was less than 20 mg/L and the exposure time was less than 96 h. The combined exposure of zebrafish to Cu2+ and PS-NPs resulted in a 3.1–32.2% reduction in the LC50 value at different time points compared with Cu2+ alone. In the behavioral study, both single and combined exposure to Cu2+ and PS-NPs induced hyperactivity and aggregation phenomena in the zebrafish at different levels; the duration of these two phenomena was correlated with the concentration of the pollutants. The combined exposure to Cu2+ and PS-NPs exacerbated the behavioral changes in zebrafish compared with exposure to Cu2+ alone, reducing their hyperactivity time, average swim speed and aggregation time by 30.7–41.0%, 13.6–15.4%, and 28.3–28.8%, respectively. Therefore, this study indicates that the combined short-term exposure to PS-NPs and Cu2+ can exacerbate the toxicity of pollutants, and also proves the feasibility for early warning of combined NPs and heavy metals pollution based on adult zebrafish behavioral indicators.

Dissolved organic matter inhibit the degradation process of polystyrene nanoplastic under utraviolet light.

Evaluating the role of soil EPS in modifying the toxicity potential of the mixture of polystyrene nanoplastics and xenoestrogen, Bisphenol A (BPA) in Allium cepa L.