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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Concerns about plastic pollution and its toxicity towards animals and people are growing. Polystyrene (PS) is a
plastic polymer highly produced in Europe for packaging purposes and building insulation amongst others.
Whatever their source—illegal dumping, improper waste management, or a lack of treatment for the removal of
plastic debris from wastewater treatment plants—PS products ultimately end up in the marine environment.
Nanoplastics (<1000 nm) are the new focus for plastic pollution, gaining broad interest. Whether primary or
secondary, their small size permits nanoparticles to cross cellular boundaries, consequently leading to adverse
toxic effects. An in vitro assay of Mytilus galloprovincialis haemocytes exposed to 10 μg/L of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs; 50 nm) for 24 h was used to test cellular viability along with the luminescence inhibition (LC50)
of Aliivibrio fischeri bacteria to evaluate acute toxicity. Cellular viability of mussel haemocytes decreased
significantly after a 24 h exposure and PS-NPs LC50 range from 180 to 217, μg/L. In addition, a 28-day exposure
of the marine bivalve M. galloprovincialis to PS-NPs (10 μg/L; 50 nm) was performed to evaluate the neurotoxic
effects and the uptake of these plastic particles in three bivalve tissues (gills, digestive gland, and gonads). The
ingestion of PS-NPs was time- and tissue-specific, suggesting that PS-NPs are ingested through the gills and then
translocated through the mussel bloodstream, to the digestive gland and gonads where the highest amount of
ingested PS-NPs was reported. Ingested PS-NPs may compromise the digestive glands’ key metabolic function
and impair mussels’ gametogenic and reproductive success. Data on acetylcholinesterase inhibition and those
previously obtained on a wide range of cellular biomarkers were elaborated through weighted criteria providing
a synthetic assessment of cellular hazard from PS-NPs.
Description
Keywords
Polystyrene nanoplastics Ingestion Neurotoxicity Cytotoxicity Mytilus galloprovincialis LC50
Citation
Publisher
Elsevier