Dąbrowska Agnieszka, Strode Evita, Kurach Łukasz, Stachowicz Marcin
University of Warsaw, Faculty of Chemistry, Pasteura 1, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; University of Warsaw, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, Żwirki i Wigury 101 st, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland.
Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Agency of Daugavpils University, Voleru Str. 4, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia.
J Contam Hydrol. 2025 May;272:104574. doi: 10.1016/j.jconhyd.2025.104574. Epub 2025 Apr 14.
The ecotoxicological effects of nanoplastic (NPs) and microplastic (MPs) polystyrene particles' (PS) on Hyalella azteca were studied in three tests designed to investigate various hypotheses and explore potential mechanisms of interaction between MPs, NPs and this species. The following materials were used: fluorescent nanoplastic nanoPS of 15-18 nm diameter, non-modified nanoPS 25 nm, and functionalized (aminometyl)polystyrene (PS-NH). Short-term exposure of 7 and 14 days, and long-term exposure of 42 days, were conducted using three different types of PS at varying concentrations (0.01, 0.18, 1, 18, 180 mg L). The experiments were carried out through two methods: PS introduced via food and PS dispersed in the environment (referred to as the "medium"). The effects were comprehensively assessed by measuring the activity of selected oxidative stress biomarkers (acetylcholinesterase AChE, catalase CAT, and glutathione s-transferase GST), and monitoring parameters such as size, growth, reproduction rate, and the presence of possible malformations. The statistically significant effect was observed with PS-NH (37-74 μm) and fluorescent nanoPS (15-18 nm), whereas nanoPS of 25 nm were nearly inert. The discussion is focused on four observed aspects: (i) the impact of the surface characteristics and functional group modifications of PS particles on their overall effect on biota, (ii) the limitations of using a typical concentration parameter for tests comparison, with a proposal to adopt total surface area of MPs and NPs instead - reflecting the overall surface exposed to the environment, rather than solely relying on the mass or volume, (iii) the influence of feeding regimen (exposure at varying concentrations in food or medium compared to no exposure) on the ecotoxicological effect, and (iv) the potential of Hyalella azteca as a sentinel species for monitoring microplastic transport in both freshwater and brackish waters environments. Finally, the physical and chemical properties of all three PS types were characterized to better understand their mutual interaction with biota from the material perspective.
在三项试验中研究了纳米塑料（NPs）和微塑料（MPs）聚苯乙烯颗粒（PS）对阿氏摇蚊的生态毒理学效应，这些试验旨在探究各种假设，并探索MPs、NPs与该物种之间相互作用的潜在机制。使用了以下材料：直径为15 - 18纳米的荧光纳米塑料nanoPS、未改性的25纳米nanoPS以及功能化（氨基甲基）聚苯乙烯（PS - NH）。使用三种不同类型的PS，在不同浓度（0.01、0.18、1、18、180毫克/升）下进行了7天和14天的短期暴露以及42天的长期暴露。实验通过两种方法进行：通过食物引入PS以及将PS分散在环境中（称为“介质”）。通过测量选定的氧化应激生物标志物（乙酰胆碱酯酶AChE、过氧化氢酶CAT和谷胱甘肽S - 转移酶GST）的活性，并监测诸如大小、生长、繁殖率以及可能的畸形情况等参数，对效应进行了全面评估。观察到PS - NH（37 - 74微米）和荧光纳米PS（15 - 18纳米）具有统计学上的显著效应，而25纳米的nanoPS几乎呈惰性。讨论集中在四个观察到的方面：（i）PS颗粒的表面特性和官能团修饰对其对生物群总体效应的影响；（ii）使用典型浓度参数进行试验比较的局限性，提议采用MPs和NPs的总表面积来替代——反映暴露于环境的总表面积，而不是仅仅依赖质量或体积；（iii）喂食方案（与无暴露相比，在食物或介质中以不同浓度暴露）对生态毒理学效应的影响；（iv）阿氏摇蚊作为监测淡水和咸淡水环境中微塑料迁移的指示物种的潜力。最后，对所有三种PS类型的物理和化学性质进行了表征，以便从材料角度更好地理解它们与生物群的相互作用。
