Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Lund University, Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.
Environ Sci Process Impacts. 2015 Oct;17(10):1712-21. doi: 10.1039/c5em00227c. Epub 2015 Sep 4.
The amount of plastics released to the environment in modern days has increased substantially since the development of modern plastics in the early 1900s. As a result, concerns have been raised by the public about the impact of plastics on nature and on, specifically, aquatic wildlife. Lately, much attention has been paid to macro- and micro-sized plastics and their impact on aquatic organisms. However, micro-sized plastics degrade subsequently into nano-sizes whereas nano-sized particles may be released directly into nature. Such particles have a different impact on aquatic organisms than larger pieces of plastic due to their small size, high surface curvature, and large surface area. This review describes the possible sources of nano-sized plastic, its distribution and behavior in nature, the impact of nano-sized plastic on the well-being of aquatic organisms, and the difference of impact between nano- and micro-sized particles. We also identify research areas which urgently need more attention and suggest experimental methods to obtain useful data.
自 20 世纪初现代塑料问世以来，现代社会中释放到环境中的塑料数量大幅增加。因此，公众对塑料对自然的影响，特别是对水生野生动物的影响表示担忧。最近，人们越来越关注大尺寸和小尺寸塑料及其对水生生物的影响。然而，小尺寸塑料随后降解为纳米尺寸，而纳米尺寸的颗粒可能直接释放到自然环境中。由于纳米颗粒的体积小、曲率高、表面积大，因此与较大的塑料碎片相比，它们对水生生物的影响不同。这篇综述描述了纳米级塑料的可能来源、在自然界中的分布和行为、纳米级塑料对水生生物健康的影响，以及纳米级和微级颗粒的影响差异。我们还确定了急需更多关注的研究领域，并提出了获得有用数据的实验方法。
