Leisha Martin

(1) Background: Nanoplastics are emerging environmental pollutants with potential toxic effects on aquatic organisms. This study investigates the toxicity of NPs in Biomphalaria glabrata, a freshwater snail species widely used as a bioindicator species in ecotoxicology studies.; (2) Methods: We exposed three generations (F0–F2) of B. glabrata snail embryos to different sizes of polystyrene nanoparticles and assessed responses.; (3) Results: We observed severe effects on F0 to F2 B. glabrata embryos, including size-dependent (30 to 500 nm) increases in mortality rates, size and dosage-dependent (1 to 100 ppm) effects on hatching rates with concentration-dependent toxicity in the 30 nm exposure group. The F2 generation embryos appear to be most responsive to detoxification (CYP450) and pollutant metabolism (HSP70) at 48-h-post-treatment (HPT), while our developmental marker (MATN1) was highly upregulated at 96-HPT. We also report a particle-size-dependent correlation in HSP70 and CYP450 mRNA expression, as well as enhanced upregulation in the offspring of exposed snails. We also observed significant reductions in hatching rates for F2.; (4) Conclusions: These findings indicate that F2 generation embryos appear to exhibit increased stress from toxic substances inherited from their parents and grandparents (F1 and F0). This study provides valuable insights into the impact of plastic particulate pollution on multiple generations and highlights the importance of monitoring and mitigating plastic waste.

(1) Background: Nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging environmental pollutants with potential toxic effects on aquatic organisms. This study investigates the toxicity of NPs in Biomphalaria glabrata, a freshwater snail species widely used as a bioindicator species in ecotoxicology studies.; (2) Methods: We exposed three generations (F0-F2) of B. glabrata snail embryos to different sizes of polystyrene NPs and assessed responses.; (3) Results: summarize the article’s main findings; (4) Conclusions: We observed severe effects on F0 to F2 B. glabrata embryos, including size-dependent (30 to 500 nm) increases in mortality rates, size and dosage-dependent (1 to 100 ppm) effects on hatching rates, and concentration-dependent toxicity in the 30 nm NP treatment group. The F2 generation embryos appear to be most responsive to detoxification (CYP450) and pollutant me-tabolism (HSP70) at 48-hours-post-treatment (HPT), while our developmental marker (MATN1) was highly upregulated at 96-HPT. We also report a particle-size-dependent correlation in HSP70 and CYP450 mRNA expression, as well as enhanced upregulation in the offspring of NP treated snails. These findings indicate that F2 generation embryos appear to exhibit increased stress from toxic substances inherited from F1 and F0. This study provides valuable insights into the impact of plastic particulate pollution on multiple generations and highlights the importance of monitoring and mitigating plastic waste.

Millions of tons of plastics enter the oceans yearly, and they can be fragmented by ultraviolet and mechanical means into nanoplastics. Here, we report the direct observation of nanoplastics in global ocean water leveraging a unique shrinking surface bubble deposition (SSBD) technique. SSBD involves optically heating plasmonic nanoparticles to form a surface bubble and leveraging the Marangoni flow to concentrate suspended nanoplastics onto the surface, allowing direct visualization using electron microscopy. With the plasmonic nanoparticles co-deposited in SSBD, the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy effect is enabled for direct chemical identification of trace amounts of nanoplastics. In the water samples from two oceans, we observed nanoplastics made of nylon, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate—all common in daily consumables. The plastic particles have diverse morphologies, such as nanofibers, nanoflakes, and ball-stick nanostructures. These nanoplastics may profoundly affect marine organisms, and our results can provide critical information for appropriately designing their toxicity studies.

Plastic production surpasses all other synthetic materials globally, with 5-13 million tons of them entering the oceans every year, posing serious environmental challenges. Plastics in the environment can be fragmented by UV irradiation and mechanical means into micro- or even nano-particles. Although nanoplastics have been detected in ocean water using techniques like mass spectrometry, they have never been visually seen, and thus their morphological features are unknown, which are critical to their toxicity. Here we report the direct observation of nanoplastics in ocean water around the world leveraging a unique shrinking surface bubble deposition (SSBD) technique. SSBD concentrates suspended nanoplastic particles onto a surface, allowing direct visualization using electron microscopy. With the plasmonic nanoparticles co-deposited in the SSBD process, the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy effect is enabled for chemical identification of trace amounts of nanoplastics deposited on the surface. From the water samples collected from locations on the coastlines of China, South Korea, and the United States, and deep (>300 m) in the Gulf of Mexico, we observed nanoplastics with a variety of compositions, including polycaprolactam (Nylon), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) all commonly used in daily consumables (e.g., textiles, coffee cup lids and water bottles). The plastic particles we found possessed diverse morphologies, such as nanofibers, nanoflakes, and ball-stick nanostructures. These diverse nanoplastics may profoundly impact marine organisms, and our results can provide critical information for appropriately designing their toxicity studies.

Aims: Numerous beneficial effects of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) supplementation have been reported in the literature. However, data on its effects toward the gut microbiome are limited. We assessed ... Plain language summary Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is used as a supplement for fighting infectious disorders. Many disorders, including COVID-19 and cancer, harmfully disrupt the levels... Tweetable abstract Patients receiving ascorbic acid supplementation had increased abundance of Bifidobacterium in their gut microbiome, which may help to explain some of the apparent health benefit...

Nanoplastic pollution is increasing worldwide and poses a threat to humans, animals, and ecological systems. High-throughput, reliable methods for the isolation and separation of NMPs from drinking water, wastewater, or environmental bodies of water are of interest. We investigated iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) with hydrophobic coatings to magnetize plastic particulate waste for removal. We produced and tested IONPs synthesized using air-free conditions and in atmospheric air, coated with several polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based hydrophobic coatings. Particles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry, dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and zeta potential. The IONPs synthesized in air contained a higher percentage of the magnetic spinel phase and stronger magnetization. Binding and recovery of NMPs from both salt and freshwater samples was demonstrated. Specifically, we were able to remove 100% of particles in a range of sizes, from 2–5 mm, and nearly 90% of nanoplastic particles with a size range from 100 nm to 1000 nm using a simple 2-inch permanent NdFeB magnet. Magnetization of NMPs using IONPs is a viable method for separation from water samples for quantification, characterization, and purification and remediation of water.

Nanoparticles (NPs) that can be optically tracked are of interest for cell and organismal biodistribution studies. However, dyes or fluorophores crosslinke