Impact of Nano and Micro plastics (NMP) on the Bioaccumulation of Contaminants in the Environment

Xianhua Wu^*
*Correspondence: Xianhua Wu, Department of General Health, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China, Email:

Introduction

For a variety of reasons, nano- and micro plastics (NMPs) are one of the most significant pollutants of today's concern. First, there have been global reports of the presence of NMPs, which are abundant in the environment. This is largely attributable to the high volume of waste produced. The majority of plastic waste originates on land; it can, however, be transported and/or stored in various compartments. In addition, it is anticipated that the environmental abundance of NMP will continue to rise in the decades to come. In addition to the undeniable presence of NMPs in the environment, other causes for concern include their potential toxicological effects on humans and biota, their contribution to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases, and their interactions with other organic and inorganic contaminants. The scientific community has raised significant concerns regarding NMP's function as a contamination vector as a result of its subsequent effects. The interaction of NMP with contaminants, particularly through sorption/desorption processes, is the subject of a substantial body of research.

Description

Chemical affinity, which is related to the physicochemical properties of the contaminants, as well as their concentrations, medium type, and time all play a role in the sorption and desorption of contaminants on NMP. NMP collected from the environment contained high concentrations of contaminants, as determined by chemical analysis. At times, the toxin focus in NMP might try and surpass that of the general climate. NMP's contamination levels also increased over time, indicating that the accumulation of contaminants may be accelerated by its prolonged presence. The possibility that NMP will alter the contaminants' available fractions and, as a result, have a direct impact on bioaccumulation is one of the most significant aspects of these interactions.

The first step toward potential toxic effects is bioaccumulation, which is defined as the increase in contaminant levels in an organism's body. It is a crucial process that defines a contaminant's potential to cause adverse effects and is the result of the contaminant's net uptake and elimination rates. In the environmental medium (water, soil, and sediment), the uptake of contaminants can occur in a variety of ways, including biota ingestion, dermal uptake, and rhizo filtration. Bioaccumulation processes may be altered by NMP. First, ingesting tainted NMP, for instance, may represent a novel method of environmental contamination exposure. In addition, the overall bio accessibility of contaminants may be affected by NMP's effect on the organisms' internal processes of uptake and elimination. It is essential to comprehend whether NMPs are likely to influence the bioaccumulation of contaminants in light of the increasing levels of NMP in the environment and their interaction with contaminants [1-5].

The impact of NMP exposures on the bioaccumulation of toxic compounds in terrestrial organisms is the subject of a comprehensive scoping review of the available literature in this paper. This review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and seeks to fill in knowledge gaps regarding the interaction of NMP chemicals bioaccumulation. Our goal is to provide an answer to: What effect does NMP's presence have on contaminants' bioaccumulation? For this reason, we only included publications that compared treatments with and without NMP. To make the systematic review as comprehensive as possible, the articles were divided into three main categories following the selection of the relevant literature: specifically, freshwater, marine, and terrestrial. The terrestrial publications uncovered through our literature search are the focus of this review. More research is needed to determine the effects of NMP on the terrestrial environment because soils are a significant NMP sink.

Conclusion

The majority of studies found that bioaccumulation of contaminants in plants decreased. In contrast, the majority of the experiments revealed an increase in contaminant bioaccumulation in earthworms. The NMP had a significant impact on the bioaccumulation of contaminants for a variety of reasons, most notably a shift in the contaminants' bioavailable forms in water or soil. Despite the fact that the method of exposure differs between these two taxonomic groups, this was true for both earthworms and plants. There was a lack of consistency in the characteristics of the NMP. This could be brought on by the particular connection that exists between the characteristics of NMP and the entire design of the study (from the spiking method to the contaminant used and its concentrations). Still, more research is needed on this subject. For instance, research on the size of NMP that can enter the plant root remains inconsistent. With few exceptions utilizing realistically low concentrations, effects on bioaccumulation were more evident at high NMP concentrations. Concentrations that are environmentally acceptable should be the focus of future research.

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