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Review of ecotoxicological studies of widely used polystyrene nanoparticles

Kelpsiene, Egle LU ; Ekvall, Mikael T. LU ; Lundqvist, Martin LU ; Torstensson, Oscar ; Hua, Jing LU and Cedervall, Tommy LU (2022) In Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts 24(1). p.8-16
Abstract

With polystyrene nanoparticles being widely used in various applications, there is a great need for deeper knowledge on the safety, fate and biological effects of these particles on both individual living organisms and the whole ecosystems. Due to this, there is a growing interest in performing ecotoxicological studies using model plastic nanoparticles, and consequently it generates an increasing number of published papers describing the negative impact on wildlife caused by such nanoparticles. Polystyrene is the most studied nanosized plastic, therefore this review focuses on research conducted with manufactured polystyrene nanoparticles. The aim of the present article is to provide a critical methodological outline of the existing... (More)

With polystyrene nanoparticles being widely used in various applications, there is a great need for deeper knowledge on the safety, fate and biological effects of these particles on both individual living organisms and the whole ecosystems. Due to this, there is a growing interest in performing ecotoxicological studies using model plastic nanoparticles, and consequently it generates an increasing number of published papers describing the negative impact on wildlife caused by such nanoparticles. Polystyrene is the most studied nanosized plastic, therefore this review focuses on research conducted with manufactured polystyrene nanoparticles. The aim of the present article is to provide a critical methodological outline of the existing ecotoxicological studies on the effects of polystyrene nanoparticles on aquatic organisms. Going through the published articles, we noted that particle characterization especially in the test medium, can be improved. The analysis also highlights the importance of purifying the polystyrene nanoparticles before studying its toxicity. Furthermore, the size characterization of such nanoparticles is underemphasized, and in future studies, authors should consider including more techniques to achieve this goal. Finally, short-term or direct exposure scenarios do not add the most environmentally relevant knowledge in terms of the toxicity caused by polystyrene nanoparticles.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts
volume
24
issue
1
pages
9 pages
publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
external identifiers
  • scopus:85123877972
  • scopus:85123877972
  • pmid:34825687
ISSN
2050-7895
DOI
10.1039/D1EM00375E
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
820cd497-3a22-4b26-bea7-712fadacd278
date added to LUP
2022-01-13 09:41:10
date last changed
2024-06-17 09:45:50
@article{820cd497-3a22-4b26-bea7-712fadacd278,
  abstract     = {{<p>With polystyrene nanoparticles being widely used in various applications, there is a great need for deeper knowledge on the safety, fate and biological effects of these particles on both individual living organisms and the whole ecosystems. Due to this, there is a growing interest in performing ecotoxicological studies using model plastic nanoparticles, and consequently it generates an increasing number of published papers describing the negative impact on wildlife caused by such nanoparticles. Polystyrene is the most studied nanosized plastic, therefore this review focuses on research conducted with manufactured polystyrene nanoparticles. The aim of the present article is to provide a critical methodological outline of the existing ecotoxicological studies on the effects of polystyrene nanoparticles on aquatic organisms. Going through the published articles, we noted that particle characterization especially in the test medium, can be improved. The analysis also highlights the importance of purifying the polystyrene nanoparticles before studying its toxicity. Furthermore, the size characterization of such nanoparticles is underemphasized, and in future studies, authors should consider including more techniques to achieve this goal. Finally, short-term or direct exposure scenarios do not add the most environmentally relevant knowledge in terms of the toxicity caused by polystyrene nanoparticles.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kelpsiene, Egle and Ekvall, Mikael T. and Lundqvist, Martin and Torstensson, Oscar and Hua, Jing and Cedervall, Tommy}},
  issn         = {{2050-7895}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{8--16}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society of Chemistry}},
  series       = {{Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts}},
  title        = {{Review of ecotoxicological studies of widely used polystyrene nanoparticles}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D1EM00375E}},
  doi          = {{10.1039/D1EM00375E}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}