Issue 7, 2023

Metabolomics-based analysis in Daphnia magna after exposure to low environmental concentrations of polystyrene nanoparticles

Abstract

Larger plastic pieces break down into micro- and eventually nano-sized plastics. This makes nanoplastics ubiquitous in the environment, giving rise to great concern for its effect on biota. Many studies use polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) as a model for nanoplastics, showing a negative impact on various organisms, but the molecular effects are yet not fully explored. Here we applied 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics to characterize the metabolic changes in Daphnia magna during long-term (37 days) exposure to low concentrations of positively and negatively charged (aminated and carboxylated) PS-NPs. We show that exposure to PS-NPs at concentrations down to 3.2 μg L−1 affected amino acid metabolism and the bacterial metabolite isopropanol in D. magna. These effects were largely independent of particle concentration and surface charge. The results highlight the importance of (1) performing chronic exposures under low concentrations and (2) further investigation of particles with different surface charges.

Graphical abstract: Metabolomics-based analysis in Daphnia magna after exposure to low environmental concentrations of polystyrene nanoparticles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 3 2023
Accepted
22 5 2023
First published
30 5 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023,10, 1858-1866

Metabolomics-based analysis in Daphnia magna after exposure to low environmental concentrations of polystyrene nanoparticles

E. Kelpsiene, T. Cedervall and A. Malmendal, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023, 10, 1858 DOI: 10.1039/D3EN00142C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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