Differentially charged nanoplastics demonstrate distinct accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

Background: Plastic is everywhere. It is used in food packaging, storage containers, electronics, furniture, clothing, and common single-use disposable items. Microplastic and nanoplastic particulates are formed from bulk fragmentation and disintegration of plastic pollution. Plastic particulates have recently been detected in indoor air and remote atmospheric fallout. Due to their small size, microplastic and nanoplastic particulate in the atmosphere can be inhaled and may pose a risk for human health, speci cally in susceptible populations. When inhaled, nanosized particles have been shown to translocate across pulmonary cell barriers to secondary organs, including the placenta. However, the potential for maternal-to-fetal translocation of nanosized-plastic particles and the impact of nanoplastic deposition and accumulation on fetal health remain unknown. In this study we investigated whether nanopolystyrene particles can cross the placental barrier and deposit in fetal tissues after maternal pulmonary exposure. Results: Pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to 20 nm rhodamine-labeled nanopolystyrene beads (2.64 x 10 14 particles) via intratracheal instillation on gestational day (GD) 19. Twenty-four hours later on GD 20, maternal and fetal tissues were evaluated using uorescent optical imaging. Fetal tissues were xed for particle visualization with hyperspectral microscopy. Using isolated placental perfusion, a known concentration of nanopolystyrene was injected into the uterine artery. Maternal and fetal e uents were collected for 180 minutes and assessed for polystyrene particle concentration. Twenty-four hours after maternal exposure, fetal and placental weights were signi cantly lower (7% and 8%, respectively) compared with controls. Nanopolystyrene particles were detected in the maternal lung, heart, and spleen. Polystyrene nanoparticles were also observed in the placenta, fetal liver, lungs, heart, kidney, and brain suggesting maternal lung-to-fetal tissue nanoparticle translocation in late stage pregnancy. Conclusion: These studies con rm that maternal pulmonary exposure to nanopolystyrene results in the translocation of plastic particles to placental and fetal tissues and renders the fetoplacental unit vulnerable to adverse effects. These data are vital to the understanding of plastic particulate toxicology and the developmental origins of health and disease. Background Plastics are ubiquitous in modern society, used worldwide in a variety of applications ranging from manufacturing, packaging materials, personal products, and medical devices. Growing production and post-consumer plastic waste disposal contribute to the accumulation of plastic in land lls, waterways, and oceans [1]. In the natural environment, material fragmentation of bulk plastic waste by a combination of physical, chemical, and biological processes produces smaller particles referred to as microplastics (< 5 mm in a single dimension [2]) and nanoplastics (< 100 nm in a single dimension). Recent literature identi ed microplastics ...

Nanopolystyrene Translocation and Fetal Deposition After Acute Lung Exposure During Late-Stage Pregnancy

“…The majority of plastic materials produced end up in land lls [1] and have been estimated to take hundreds of years to breakdown from a larger size through mechanical, ultraviolet, and frictional forces to smaller microplastics and nanosized plastic particles [53]. These particles can enter water and food sources, as identi ed in tap water, bottled water, and beer [54,55], become airborne as a constituent of indoor air particulate [56], be identi ed in planting soils and root structures [57], or contribute to environmental contamination by atmospheric fallout [3,4,7].…”

Transcriptome mechanisms underlying interaction of polystyrene nanoplastics and wheat Triticum aestivum L.

“…1b), which might be related to enriched plant hormone signal transduction (Table 1). Similarly, both Zhou, Lu 30 and Sun, Yuan 35 reported that phytohormone biosynthesis (Jasmonic acid) and plant hormone signal transduction were the signi cantly enriched KEGG pathways induced by NPs in Arabidopsis thaliana and rice, respectively. It is well known that phytohormones are important signal molecules that regulate various aspects of plant growth, development, and even response to both biotic and abiotic stress 46 .…”

“…With regard to NPs taken-up, excess mucilage and exudates production (mainly low molecular organic acids: LMOA) associated with amino acid biosynthesis might play a crucial role in the rst barrier defense 53 . Moreover, Serval reports showed the phytotoxicity of NPs to higher plant due to the overproduction of ROS 30,35 , which may induce the anti-stress KEGG pathway such as MAPK signaling pathway-plant and glycerophospholipid metabolism. However, low phytotoxicity of NPs to wheat was determined in our previous study, so MAPK signaling pathway-plant was probably triggered by biotic stress stimuli such as pathogen infection.…”

“…However, the existing conclusions of MPs/NPs on crop phytotoxicity seems to be contradictory. For example, exposure to NPs could inhibit growth or mediate oxidative damage in rice 30,31 , Vicia faba 32 , ryegrass 33 , spring onion 34 , and Arabidopsis thaliana 35 . Inversely, our previous studies showed that PSNPs had low phototoxicity and could dramatically enhance the growth performance of wheat when exposed to ambient concentrations 27 .…”

A Plant Bioreactor for the Synthesis of Carbon Nanotube Bionic Nanocomposites

“…As described for other carbon nanomaterials (Villagarcia et al, 2012;Zhai et al, 2015) and nanoparticles (Wang et al, 2012;Ma et al, 2017;Sun et al, 2020), SWCNT-COOH translocation takes place along with the uptake of water, then the nanoparticles are transported through the xylem.…”