Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, China.
Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, China.
J Hazard Mater. 2022 May 5;429:128109. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128109. Epub 2021 Dec 17.
Microplastics (MPs), as pollutants of environmental concern, are correlated with increased risk of various respiratory diseases. Nevertheless, whether or not MPs have adverse influences on the interfacial properties of lung surfactant (LS), and its effect on the generation of reactive oxygen species are poorly understood. In the present study, natural LS extracted from porcine lungs was used to investigate the interaction with polystyrene as a representative MPs. The results showed that the phase behavior, surface tension, and membrane structure of the LS were altered in the presence of polystyrene. Adsorption experiments demonstrated that in the mixed system of polystyrene and LS (the main active ingredients are phospholipids and proteins), adsorption of phospholipid components by polystyrene was notably higher than that of proteins. Moreover, polystyrene can accelerate the conversion between ascorbic acid and deoxyascorbic acid, thereby producing hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) in simulated lung fluid (containing LS) and further giving rise to an increase in the content of hydroxyl radicals (•OH). This work provides new insight into the potential hazard of MPs in human respiratory system, which is helpful for deeply understanding the unfavorable physicochemical effects of MPs exposure and the role of inhaled MPs on lung health.
微塑料（MPs）作为环境关注的污染物，与各种呼吸道疾病的风险增加有关。然而，MPs 是否对肺表面活性剂（LS）的界面性质产生不利影响，以及其对活性氧生成的影响尚不清楚。本研究中，使用从猪肺中提取的天然 LS 来研究与聚苯乙烯的相互作用，聚苯乙烯是一种代表性的 MPs。结果表明，在聚苯乙烯存在的情况下，LS 的相行为、表面张力和膜结构发生了改变。吸附实验表明，在聚苯乙烯和 LS 的混合体系（主要活性成分是磷脂和蛋白质）中，聚苯乙烯对磷脂成分的吸附明显高于蛋白质。此外，聚苯乙烯可以加速抗坏血酸和脱氧抗坏血酸之间的转化，从而在模拟肺液（含有 LS）中产生过氧化氢（HOOH），并进一步导致羟基自由基（•OH）含量增加。这项工作为 MPs 对人体呼吸系统的潜在危害提供了新的认识，有助于深入了解 MPs 暴露的不利物理化学影响以及吸入 MPs 对肺部健康的作用。
