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Journal of Hazardous Materials Mar 2020Microplastics (MPs) have become a global environmental concern. Recent studies have shown that MPs, of which the predominant type is often polystyrene (PS; known as...
Microplastics (MPs) have become a global environmental concern. Recent studies have shown that MPs, of which the predominant type is often polystyrene (PS; known as PS-MPs), can extend to and affect remote, sparsely inhabited areas via atmospheric transport. Although exposure to inhaled MPs may induce lung dysfunction, further experimental verification of the pulmonary toxic potential of MPs and the mechanism underlying the toxicity is needed. Here we used normal human lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells to clarify the association between pulmonary toxicity and PS-MPs. Results revealed that PS-MPs can cause cytotoxic and inflammatory effects in BEAS-2B cells by inducing reactive oxygen species formation. PS-MPs can decrease transepithelial electrical resistance by depleting zonula occludens proteins. Indeed, decreased α1-antitrypsin levels in BEAS-2B cells suggest that exposure to PS-MPs increases the risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and high concentrations of PS-MPs can induce these adverse responses. While low PS-MP levels can only disrupt the protective pulmonary barrier, they may also increase the risk for lung disease. Collectively, our findings indicate that PS-MP inhalation may influence human respiratory health.
Topics: Cell Line; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Inflammation; Inhalation Exposure; Lung; Microplastics; Oxidative Stress; Polystyrenes
PubMed: 31727530
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121575 -
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach,... Jul 2022Tissue-culture-ware polystyrene is the gold standard for in vitro cell culture. While microengineering techniques can create advanced cell microenvironments in...
Tissue-culture-ware polystyrene is the gold standard for in vitro cell culture. While microengineering techniques can create advanced cell microenvironments in polystyrene, they require specialized equipment and reagents, which hinder their accessibility for most biological researchers. An economical and easily accessible method is developed and validated for fabricating microstructures directly in polystyrene with sizes approaching subcellular dimensions while requiring minimal processing time. The process involves deep ultraviolet irradiation through a shadow mask or ink pattern using inexpensive, handheld devices followed by selective chemical development with common reagents to generate micropatterns with depths/heights between 5 and 10 µm, which can be used to guide cell behavior. The remarkable straightforwardness of the process enables this class of microengineering techniques to be broadly accessible to diverse research communities.
Topics: Cell Culture Techniques; Plastics; Polystyrenes; Printing; Ultraviolet Rays
PubMed: 35358334
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202200687 -
Critical Reviews in Biotechnology Mar 2018Polystyrene is a widely used plastic in many aspects of human life and in industries due to its useful characteristics of low cost, light weight, ease of manufacture,... (Review)
Review
Polystyrene is a widely used plastic in many aspects of human life and in industries due to its useful characteristics of low cost, light weight, ease of manufacture, versatility, thermal efficiency, durability, and moisture resistance. However, polystyrene is very stable and extremely hard to degrade in the environment after disposal. Polystyrene can be used as a carbon source for microorganisms similar to many other hydrocarbons. The ability of microorganisms to use polystyrene as a carbon source has been recently established. However, the high molecular weight of polystyrene limits its use as a substrate for enzymatic reactions to take place. In this paper, we review studies on biodegradation of polystyrene to give an overview and direction for future studies.
Topics: Bacteria; Biodegradation, Environmental; Polystyrenes
PubMed: 28764575
DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2017.1355293 -
Journal of the American Chemical Society Apr 2022Chemical upcycling of polystyrene into targeted small molecules is desirable to reduce plastic pollution. Herein, we report the upcycling of polystyrene to benzoyl...
Chemical upcycling of polystyrene into targeted small molecules is desirable to reduce plastic pollution. Herein, we report the upcycling of polystyrene to benzoyl products, primarily benzoic acid, using a catalyst-controlled photooxidative degradation method. FeCl undergoes a homolytic cleavage upon irradiation with white light to generate a chlorine radical, abstracting an electron-rich hydrogen atom on the polymer backbone. Under the oxygen-rich environment, high MW polystyrene (>90 kg/mol) degrades down to <1 kg/mol and produces up to 23 mol % benzoyl products. A series of mechanistic studies showed that chlorine radicals promoted the degradation via hydrogen-atom abstraction. Commercial polystyrene degrades efficiently in our method, showing the compatibility of our system with polymer fillers. Finally, we demonstrated the potential of scaling up our approach in a photoflow process to convert gram quantities of PS to benzoic acid.
Topics: Catalysis; Chlorine; Hydrogen; Light; Polystyrenes
PubMed: 35319868
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c01411 -
Marine Pollution Bulletin Dec 2020Plastic pollution is one of the major issues impacting on the marine environment. Plastic polymers are known to leach industrial chemicals and associated contaminants.... (Review)
Review
Plastic pollution is one of the major issues impacting on the marine environment. Plastic polymers are known to leach industrial chemicals and associated contaminants. In this review, we focused on assessing the global distribution and concentration of two polystyrene-derived contaminants, hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) and styrene oligomers (SOs), in marine sediments and seawater. Overall, most of the studies were carried out in Asia, North America, and Europe. Relatively high concentrations of these contaminants are generally attributed to the proximity of urban cities, plastic industries, polystyrene pollution, and aquaculture. Moreover, the concentrations in sediments are many times higher than in seawater. HBCDs were found to be a negligible risk to marine biota when compared to the ecotoxicological endpoints. However, realistic concentrations of SOs could compromise the wellbeing of certain species in highly polluted sites. The future perspectives and research were discussed.
Topics: Asia; Environmental Monitoring; Europe; North America; Polystyrenes; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 33039793
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111729 -
International Journal of Molecular... Nov 2023Polymers' controlled pyrolysis is an economical and environmentally friendly solution to prepare activated carbon. However, due to the experimental difficulty in...
Polymers' controlled pyrolysis is an economical and environmentally friendly solution to prepare activated carbon. However, due to the experimental difficulty in measuring the dependence between microstructure and pyrolysis parameters at high temperatures, the unknown pyrolysis mechanism hinders access to the target products with desirable morphologies and performances. In this study, we investigate the pyrolysis process of polystyrene (PS) under different heating rates and temperatures employing reactive molecular dynamics (ReaxFF-MD) simulations. A clear profile of the generation of pyrolysis products determined by the temperature and heating rate is constructed. It is found that the heating rate affects the type and amount of pyrolysis intermediates and their timing, and that low-rate heating helps yield more diverse pyrolysis intermediates. While the temperature affects the pyrolytic structure of the final equilibrium products, either too low or too high a target temperature is detrimental to generating large areas of the graphitized structure. The reduced time plots (RTPs) with simulation results predict a PS pyrolytic activation energy of 159.74 kJ/mol. The established theoretical evolution process matches experiments well, thus, contributing to preparing target activated carbons by referring to the regulatory mechanism of pyrolytic microstructure.
Topics: Polystyrenes; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Pyrolysis; Temperature; Heating
PubMed: 38003591
DOI: 10.3390/ijms242216403 -
Chemico-biological Interactions Nov 2022Human gastrointestinal cells can be exposed to different xenobiotics present in food or drinking water. In this work, we assessed the cytotoxicity of polystyrene...
Human gastrointestinal cells can be exposed to different xenobiotics present in food or drinking water. In this work, we assessed the cytotoxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) and how it is impacted by fluoride (F) presence. We decided to examine PS-NPs and F which can be easily found in drinking water and food. Commercially available amine-modified 100 nm PS-NPs were used in the study. Scanning Electron Microscopy with Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) were used to characterize PS-NPs. The colon cell lines (HT-29, Caco-2, CCD 841 CoN) were used. Cytotoxicity of PS-NPs and F alone or in co-exposition were assessed with MTT assay in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Flow cytometry was used to measure reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis analysis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to determine whether PS-NPs and/or F can cause ultrastructure changes in the cells. We have shown that PS-NPs are cytotoxic to human colon cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. PS-NPs did not impact neither intracellular ROS production nor the cells cell cycle distribution. However, if HT-29 cells were co-exposed to PS-NPs and F, an increased number of cells in G0/G1 phase and decreased number of cells in G2/M were observed. PS-NPs can cause apoptosis in HT-29 cells, this effect was enhanced if cells were co-exposed to PS-NP and F. PS-NPs were internalised by the cells and caused ultrastructure changes. Fluoride itself (1 mM) was not cytotoxic to the cells and did not cause any changes in the ultrastructure of the cells. We have proven that polystyrene nanoparticles can be cytotoxic to human gastrointestinal cells and this effect is enhanced by fluoride.
Topics: Amines; Caco-2 Cells; Drinking Water; Fluorides; Humans; Nanoparticles; Polystyrenes; Reactive Oxygen Species
PubMed: 36165825
DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2022.110169 -
Acta Gastro-enterologica Belgica 2019
Topics: Gastrointestinal Diseases; Humans; Intestinal Mucosa; Intestinal Perforation; Necrosis; Polystyrenes
PubMed: 31950813
DOI: No ID Found -
The Science of the Total Environment May 2022The knowledge about the interaction of nanoplastics with other aquatic pollutants and their combined effects on biota is very scarce. In this work, we studied the...
The knowledge about the interaction of nanoplastics with other aquatic pollutants and their combined effects on biota is very scarce. In this work, we studied the interaction between polystyrene nanoplastics (PS NPs) (30 nm) and the micropollutants in a biologically treated wastewater effluent (WW). The capacity of PS NPs to sorb micropollutants was studied as well as their single and combined toxicity towards three freshwater organisms: the recombinant bioluminescent cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 CPB4337; the duckweed, Spirodela polyrhiza and the cladoceran, Daphnia magna. The endpoints were the inhibition of bioluminescence, the growth inhibition of the aquatic plant and the immobilization of D. magna after 24, 72 and 48 h of exposure, respectively. Combination Index (CI)-isobologram method was used to quantify mixture toxicity and the nature of interactions. PS NPs sorbed a variety of chemicals present in WW as micropollutants in a range of tens of ng/L to μg/L. It was found that those pollutants with positive charge were the main ones retained onto PS NPs, which was attributed to the electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged PS NPs. Regarding the toxicological effects, single exposure to PS NPs affected the three tested organisms. However, single exposure to WW only had a negative impact on the cyanobacterium and S. polyrhiza with no observed toxicity to D. magna. Regarding PS NPs-WW combined exposure, a reduction of toxicity in comparison with single exposure was observed probably due to the sorption of micropollutants onto PS NPs, which resulted in lower bioavailability of the micropollutants. In addition, the formation of PS NPs-WW heteroaggregates was observed which could result in lower bioavailability of PS NPs and sorbed micropollutants, thus lowering toxicity. This study represents a near-realistic scenario approach to the potential sorption of wastewater pollutants onto nanoplastics that could alter the toxicological effect on the biota.
Topics: Microplastics; Nanoparticles; Polystyrenes; Wastewater; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 35031361
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153063 -
Polystyrene nanoplastics enhance the toxicological effects of DDE in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae.The Science of the Total Environment Feb 2023Anthropogenic releases of plastics, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and heavy metals can impact the environment, including aquatic ecosystems. Nanoplastics (NPs)...
Anthropogenic releases of plastics, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and heavy metals can impact the environment, including aquatic ecosystems. Nanoplastics (NPs) have recently emerged as pervasive environmental pollutants that have the ability to adsorb POPs and can cause stress in organisms. Among POPs, DDT and its metabolites are ubiquitous environmental pollutants due to their long persistence. Despite the discontinued use of DDT in Europe, DDT and its metabolites (primarily p,p'-DDE) are still found at detectable levels in fish feed used in salmon aquaculture. Our study aimed to look at the individual and combined toxicity of NPs (50 mg/L polystyrene) and DDE (100 μg/L) using zebrafish larvae as a model. We found no significant morphological, cardiac, respiratory, or behavioural changes in zebrafish larvae exposed to NPs alone. Conversely, morphological, cardiac and respiratory alterations were observed in zebrafish larvae exposed to DDE and NPs + DDE. Interestingly, behavioural changes were only observed in zebrafish larvae exposed to NPs + DDE. These findings were supported by RNA-seq results, which showed that some cardiac, vascular, and immunogenic pathways were downregulated only in zebrafish larvae exposed to NPs + DDE. In summary, we found an enhanced toxicological impact of DDE when combined with NPs.
Topics: Animals; Zebrafish; Larva; Polystyrenes; Ecosystem; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Environmental Pollutants
PubMed: 36435242
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160457