Coronas of Micro/nano Plastics: a Key Determinant in Their Risk Assessments

Overview

Journal Part Fibre Toxicol

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Toxicology

Date 2022 Aug 6

PMID 35933442

Authors

Jiayu Cao

Qing Yang

Jie Jiang

Tatenda Dalu

Aliaksei Kadushkin

Joginder Singh

Rawil Fakhrullin

Fangjun Wang

Xiaoming Cai

Ruibin Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

As an emerging pollutant in the life cycle of plastic products, micro/nanoplastics (M/NPs) are increasingly being released into the natural environment. Substantial concerns have been raised regarding the environmental and health impacts of M/NPs. Although diverse M/NPs have been detected in natural environment, most of them display two similar features, i.e.,high surface area and strong binding affinity, which enable extensive interactions between M/NPs and surrounding substances. This results in the formation of coronas, including eco-coronas and bio-coronas, on the plastic surface in different media. In real exposure scenarios, corona formation on M/NPs is inevitable and often displays variable and complex structures. The surface coronas have been found to impact the transportation, uptake, distribution, biotransformation and toxicity of particulates. Different from conventional toxins, packages on M/NPs rather than bare particles are more dangerous. We, therefore, recommend seriously consideration of the role of surface coronas in safety assessments. This review summarizes recent progress on the eco-coronas and bio-coronas of M/NPs, and further discusses the analytical methods to interpret corona structures, highlights the impacts of the corona on toxicity and provides future perspectives.

Citing Articles

Enhanced bioaccumulation and toxicity of Fenpropathrin by polystyrene nano(micro)plastics in the model insect, silkworm (Bombyx mori).

Muhammad A, Qian Z, Li Y, Lei X, Iqbal J, Shen X J Nanobiotechnology. 2025; 23(1):38.

PMID: 39849517 PMC: 11756127. DOI: 10.1186/s12951-025-03120-8.

Benzo(a)pyrene and Gut Microbiome Crosstalk: Health Risk Implications.

Mauliasari I, Lee H, Koo S, Hitayezu E, Kieu A, Lee S Toxics. 2025; 12(12).

PMID: 39771153 PMC: 11840287. DOI: 10.3390/toxics12120938.

Impact of Nanoplastics on the Functional Profile of Microalgae Species Used as Food Supplements: Insights from Comparative In Vitro and Ex Vivo Digestion Studies.

Lanzoni D, Passos M, Mehn D, Gioria S, Vicente A, Giromini C J Agric Food Chem. 2024; 73(1):798-810.

PMID: 39719267 PMC: 11726606. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c07368.

Predicting Bioaccumulation of Nanomaterials: Modeling Approaches with Challenges.

Zeng H, Lv Z, Sun X, Tong Y, Wu W, Dong S Environ Health (Wash). 2024; 2(4):189-201.

PMID: 39474143 PMC: 11503807. DOI: 10.1021/envhealth.3c00138.

Approaches to Nanoparticle Labeling: A Review of Fluorescent, Radiological, and Metallic Techniques.

Chen H, Hu Q, Li W, Cai X, Mao L, Li R Environ Health (Wash). 2024; 1(2):75-89.

PMID: 39473584 PMC: 11504608. DOI: 10.1021/envhealth.3c00034.

References

Barbero F, Russo L, Vitali M, Piella J, Salvo I, Borrajo M . Formation of the Protein Corona: The Interface between Nanoparticles and the Immune System. Semin Immunol. 2017; 34:52-60. DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2017.10.001. View

Botterell Z, Beaumont N, Dorrington T, Steinke M, Thompson R, Lindeque P . Bioavailability and effects of microplastics on marine zooplankton: A review. Environ Pollut. 2018; 245:98-110. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.10.065. View

Gopinath P, Saranya V, Vijayakumar S, Mythili Meera M, Ruprekha S, Kunal R . Assessment on interactive prospectives of nanoplastics with plasma proteins and the toxicological impacts of virgin, coronated and environmentally released-nanoplastics. Sci Rep. 2019; 9(1):8860. PMC: 6586940. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45139-6. View

Ragoobur D, Huerta-Lwanga E, Somaroo G . Microplastics in agricultural soils, wastewater effluents and sewage sludge in Mauritius. Sci Total Environ. 2021; 798:149326. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149326. View

Chinen A, Guan C, Ko C, Mirkin C . The Impact of Protein Corona Formation on the Macrophage Cellular Uptake and Biodistribution of Spherical Nucleic Acids. Small. 2017; 13(16). PMC: 5493144. DOI: 10.1002/smll.201603847. View

Hidalgo-Ruz V, Gutow L, Thompson R, Thiel M . Microplastics in the marine environment: a review of the methods used for identification and quantification. Environ Sci Technol. 2012; 46(6):3060-75. DOI: 10.1021/es2031505. View

Jeong C, Kang H, Lee Y, Kim M, Lee J, Seo J . Nanoplastic Ingestion Enhances Toxicity of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Monogonont Rotifer Brachionus koreanus via Multixenobiotic Resistance (MXR) Disruption. Environ Sci Technol. 2018; 52(19):11411-11418. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b03211. View

Guerranti C, Martellini T, Perra G, Scopetani C, Cincinelli A . Microplastics in cosmetics: Environmental issues and needs for global bans. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2019; 68:75-79. DOI: 10.1016/j.etap.2019.03.007. View

Tan S, Yiap B . DNA, RNA, and protein extraction: the past and the present. J Biomed Biotechnol. 2009; 2009:574398. PMC: 2789530. DOI: 10.1155/2009/574398. View

10.

Rios L, Moore C, Jones P . Persistent organic pollutants carried by synthetic polymers in the ocean environment. Mar Pollut Bull. 2007; 54(8):1230-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2007.03.022. View

11.

Zheng H, Jiang J, Xu S, Liu W, Xie Q, Cai X . Nanoparticle-induced ferroptosis: detection methods, mechanisms and applications. Nanoscale. 2021; 13(4):2266-2285. DOI: 10.1039/d0nr08478f. View

12.

Tenzer S, Docter D, Kuharev J, Musyanovych A, Fetz V, Hecht R . Rapid formation of plasma protein corona critically affects nanoparticle pathophysiology. Nat Nanotechnol. 2013; 8(10):772-81. DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2013.181. View

13.

Thompson R, Olsen Y, Mitchell R, Davis A, Rowland S, John A . Lost at sea: where is all the plastic?. Science. 2004; 304(5672):838. DOI: 10.1126/science.1094559. View

14.

Akhatova F, Ishmukhametov I, Fakhrullina G, Fakhrullin R . Nanomechanical Atomic Force Microscopy to Probe Cellular Microplastics Uptake and Distribution. Int J Mol Sci. 2022; 23(2). PMC: 8775627. DOI: 10.3390/ijms23020806. View

15.

Steinmetz Z, Wollmann C, Schaefer M, Buchmann C, David J, Troger J . Plastic mulching in agriculture. Trading short-term agronomic benefits for long-term soil degradation?. Sci Total Environ. 2016; 550:690-705. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.153. View

16.

Grigorakis S, Drouillard K . Effect of Microplastic Amendment to Food on Diet Assimilation Efficiencies of PCBs by Fish. Environ Sci Technol. 2018; 52(18):10796-10802. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b02497. View

17.

Zhang D, Liu X, Huang W, Li J, Wang C, Zhang D . Microplastic pollution in deep-sea sediments and organisms of the Western Pacific Ocean. Environ Pollut. 2020; 259:113948. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.113948. View

18.

Li L, Xu Y, Li S, Zhang X, Feng H, Dai Y . Molecular modeling of nanoplastic transformations in alveolar fluid and impacts on the lung surfactant film. J Hazard Mater. 2021; 427:127872. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127872. View

19.

Wu J, Jiang R, Lin W, Ouyang G . Effect of salinity and humic acid on the aggregation and toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics with different functional groups and charges. Environ Pollut. 2018; 245:836-843. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.11.055. View

20.

Chetwynd A, Zhang W, Faserl K, Thorn J, Lynch I, Ramautar R . Capillary Electrophoresis Mass Spectrometry Approaches for Characterization of the Protein and Metabolite Corona Acquired by Nanomaterials. J Vis Exp. 2020; (164). DOI: 10.3791/61760. View