Potentially Poisonous Plastic Particles: Microplastics as a Vector for Cyanobacterial Toxins Microcystin-LR and Microcystin-LF

The potential of microplastics to act as a vector for micropollutants of natural or anthropogenic origin is of rising concern. Cyanobacterial toxins, including microcystins, are harmful to humans and wildlife. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time the potential of microplastics to act as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2021-12, Vol.55 (23), p.15940-15949
Main Authors: Pestana, Carlos J, Moura, Diana S, Capelo-Neto, José, Edwards, Christine, Dreisbach, Domenic, Spengler, Bernhard, Lawton, Linda A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acid composition
Amino acids
Anthropogenic factors
Congeners
Contaminants in Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments
Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria Toxins
Humans
Ingestion
Marine Toxins
Microcystin-LR
Microcystins
Microplastics
Plastic pollution
Plastics
Poisons
Polystyrene
Polystyrene resins
Toxins
Trophic levels
Wildlife
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Summary:The potential of microplastics to act as a vector for micropollutants of natural or anthropogenic origin is of rising concern. Cyanobacterial toxins, including microcystins, are harmful to humans and wildlife. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time the potential of microplastics to act as vectors for two different microcystin analogues. A concentration of up to 28 times from water to plastic was observed for the combination of polystyrene and microcystin-LF achieving toxin concentrations on the plastic of 142 ± 7 μg g–1. Based on the experimental results, and assuming a worst-case scenario, potential toxin doses for daphnids are calculated based on published microplastic ingestion data. Progressing up through trophic levels, theoretically, the concentration of microcystins in organisms is discussed. The experimental results indicate that adsorption of microcystins onto microplastics is a multifactorial process, depending on the particle size, the variable amino acid composition of the microcystins, the type of plastic, and pH. Furthermore, the results of the current study stressed the limitations of exclusively investigating microcystin-LR (the most commonly studied microcystin congener) as a model compound representing a group of around 250 reported microcystin congeners.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.1c05796