How Environmental Coatings Make Nanoplastics More Harmful

Plastic is prevalent in today's world, and it is well-known for taking a long time to degrade in the environment, if at all. However, even when plastic does not totally degrade, it can emit tiny particles known as nanoplastics due to their incredibly small size, which scientists are only now beginning to investigate in long-term health research. One of these scientists is Dr. Wei Xu, an associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Xu's current research focuses on what occurs when nanoplastics interact with saltwater, where they can take up some strange hitchhikers in the form of chemicals and organic compounds (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Environmental protein corona on nanoplastics altered the responses of skin keratinocytes and fibroblast cells to the particles

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How Environmental Coatings Help Nanoplastics Evade Cellular Defenses

"When particles are released into the environment, they can interact with a lot of different materials that modify their surfaces, possibly including proteins, chemicals, and toxins," said Xu. "Most people are concerned with what happens when you accidentally ingest nanoplastics, but our work looks at how they might be getting into the body through the skin and what they might be bringing with them."

"We found that particles with the environmental coating accumulated in certain areas inside the cell and seemed successful at avoiding its 'garbage disposal' system, which might try to kill or expel them," according to Xu. "It's like they're wearing camouflage that allows them to stay inside the cell longer."

Are the Environmental Coatings on Nanoplastics Harmful to Human Health?

While the long-term health effects of nanoplastics in the body are still being investigated, Xu's research emphasizes the importance of the skin as a target for nanoplastics, as well as the environment's potential to modify particles before they are absorbed by the body.

"While the nanoplastics themselves are a health concern, we also want to better understand these environmental coatings and what those may do once inside the body," Xu told me.

How Do Nanoplastics Penetrate Skin Cells?

To better understand how nanoplastics from the environment infiltrate the skin, Xu and his team developed their own nanoplastic beads enhanced with ocean water.

"There are vendors that produce nanoplastic particles for scientific research, but these particles have never been out in the environment," according to Xu. "So, before we conducted the toxicity assessment, we used water collected from the ocean off the coast of Corpus Christi."

After allowing the particles to interact with the saltwater for one to two weeks, Xu and his team were able to examine the particles' environmental coatings to determine what changes had occurred. The particles were then examined for their ability to penetrate cultivated skin cells.

"We had conducted previous research using plain nanoplastic beads that showed how they induce a reaction from skin cells," Xu told me. "It was significant seeing how the beads with environmental coatings were better able to avoid the attack by the immune system."

Xu's research on the skin and environmental consequences of particles is helping scientists comprehend that some of the most difficult problems in toxicology are considerably more complex than they previously thought.

"In our research, we had to focus on a specific type of environmental coating, so we looked at proteins," Xu told me. "What about those caused by algal blooms or other toxins? What happens when floods cause water to mix with other contaminants? We haven't had an opportunity to see how these things cross yet."

Ways to Limit Nanoplastic Absorption

Even if researchers develop ways to limit nanoplastic absorption with specific types of environmental coatings, there is no guarantee that they will remain effective.

"What if the environment has completely altered in ten or twenty years, with different coatings on the particles? "We may have to keep coming up with new ways to control them," Xu said.

According to Xu, the first step is to improve standardization for nanoplastic particle research, which he believes his research will contribute to.

"I've had students look at publications on the same particle and find different results because other researchers aren't required to consider environmental coatings," he told me. "We need better consistency for the long term."

Another stage will be to thoroughly investigate all of the coating types discovered by Xu and his team during their seawater study.

"We've already had people ask us about other types of coatings besides proteins," he informed me. "It will be a lot of work, but it's critical if we're to understand the full scope of the problem."

Reference:

1. Environmental protein corona on nanoplastics altered the responses of skin keratinocytes and fibroblast cells to the particles - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304389425016383?via%3Dihub)

Source-Medindia