Sequestration of Polystyrene Microplastics by Jellyfish Mucus

Abstract

The worldwide microplastics pollution is a serious environmental and health problem that is currently not effectively mitigated. In this work we tested jellyfish mucus as a new bioflocculent material capable of sequestration of polystyrene microplastics in aqueous environments. Mucus material was collected from different jellyfish species and was used to trap fluorescently tagged polystyrene microspheres. The efficiency of removal was tested using varying concentrations of microplastics and mucus. The interaction between the microplastics and mucus was determined by viscosity measurements and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Different mucus preparation methods were also tested: freshly prepared, mechanically sheared, freeze-thawed, freeze-dried, and hydrolyzed mucus. The results demonstrate that jellyfish mucus can efficiently sequester polystyrene microplastics particles from the suspension. The fraction of the removed microplastics was highest with freshly prepared mucus and decreased with freeze-thawing and freeze-drying. The mucus ability to sequester microplastics was completely lost in the hydrolyzed mucus. The results imply that the intact jellyfish mucus has the potential to be used as a biopolymer capable of removing microplastics material.

Biodegradation potential of polypropylene by jellyfish nematocyst protein

“…Plastics, on the other hand, are accumulating in the environment, and this problem will remain for millennia due to their poor biodegradability rate (Oliveira et al 2020). Until recently, oceans were viewed as dumping grounds for trash, resulting in major environmental problems (Lengar et al 2021). Plastic and microplastic debris have a detrimental environmental, and social-economic impact, like, as harming or killing marine species and entering the food chain, resulting in health issues (Oliveira et al 2020).…”

Removing microplastics from aquatic environments: A critical review

“…Such adhesive MagRobots are promising to remove MPs from aquatic environments at a large scale [ 64 ]. Jellyfish is a common marine organism that can produce a large amount of mucus, which could be as a new type of biological flocculation material, and the jellyfish mucus has been shown to be able to chelate PS−MPs in the aquatic environment [ 65 ]. Table 3 summarized the ocean MPs removal techniques over the past three years.…”

“… EPS EPS to aggregate NPs and MPs 0.1 μm PS−NPs and 10 μm PS−MPs (solution in deionized water containing 0.1% Tween 20, 1 and 10 mg L −1 ) N/A [ 62 ] A bacterial biofilm with a “capture-release mechanism” EPS EPS can cause bioaggregation of MPs MPs (106–300 μm) in seawater N/A [ 63 ] PDA@Fe 3 O 4 (MagRobots) Coating Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles with a polymeric layer of dopamine via one-step self-polymerization. Mimicking basic characteristics of the adhesive chemistry practiced by marine mussels MPs solution (2 mg mL −1 ) N/A [ 64 ] Jellyfish mucus C. tuberculata , A. aurita , and R. pulmo jellyfish and M. leidyi Jellyfish mucus can efficiently sequester PS−MPs particles from the suspension PS microspheres, dyed with Fluorescent Green with the average particle size of 48 μm, particle density of 1.05 g cm −3 , refractive index 1.59 N/A [ 65 ] …”

Digesting Planetary Harms: Ocean Life, Biomaterial Innovation, and Uncanny Ingestions of the Anthropocene

“…Preliminary research suggests that, despite several practical and regulatory hurdles, jellyfish mucus is a promising biomaterial for the sequestration of oceanic plastic wastes. 105 In addition, scientists and environmentalists have also looked to jellyfish mucus to enhance wastewater treatment filters to prevent further pollution. By including mucus-based biomaterials directly in filtration strategies, dramatic reductions in the effluence of microplastic pollution may be made possible.…”