Examination of Microcystin Adsorption by the Type of Plastic Materials Used during the Procedure of Microcystin Analysis

Abstract

The incidence of eutrophication is increasing due to fertilizer abuse and global warming. Eutrophication can induce the proliferation of cyanobacteria such as Microcystis, which produces microcystins. Microcystins are toxic to specific organs such as the liver and the heart. Thus, monitoring of microcystins is strongly required to control drinking water and agricultural product qualities. However, microcystins could be adsorbed by plastic materials during sample storage and preparation, hindering accurate analysis. Therefore, the current study examined the recovery rate of microcystins from six plastics used for containers and eight plastics used for membrane filters. Among the six plastics used for containers, polyethylene terephthalate showed the best recovery rate (≥81.3%) for 48 h. However, polypropylene, polystyrene, and high- and low-density polyethylenes showed significant adsorption after exposure for 1 hr. For membrane materials, regenerated cellulose (≥99.3%) showed the highest recovery rate of microcystins, followed by polyvinylidene fluoride (≥94.1%) and polytetrafluoroethylene (≥95.7%). The adsorption of microcystins appeared to be strongly influenced by various molecular interactions, including hydrophobic interaction, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interaction. In addition, microcystins’ functional residues seemed to be critical factors affecting their adsorption by plastic materials. The present study demonstrates that polyethylene terephthalate and regenerated cellulose membrane are suitable plastic materials for the analysis of microcystins.

Dissolved Algal Toxins along the Southern Coast of British Columbia Canada

“…Discrete water samples were collected at a depth of 0.5 m, adjacent to where SPATT sampling occurred, using 1 L PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol) bottles, which have a low binding affinity for toxins [ 90 ]. Samples were stored frozen at −20 °C, and were thawed and re-frozen 3 times prior to extraction to ensure lysis of algal cells.…”

Aging Microplastics Enhances the Adsorption of Pharmaceuticals in Freshwater

“…Large PA is an amorphous form of PA, like PS and PVC that are typically amorphous. Amorphous polymers, in which crystalline regions are absent, are expected to show greater adsorption when compared to more crystalline polymers (Seo et al, 2022). Furthermore, large PA has the greatest s BET (0.92 m 2 g − 1 ) when compared to the other large microplastics (0.01-0.41 m 2 g − 1 , Table 2).…”