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Different Toxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Caenorhabditis elegans

Tong Meng,Yue Yu,H. Miao,Yuanqing Bu,Houhu Zhang,Rong Zhou,Genmei Wang

Published 2025 in Journal of Applied Toxicology

ABSTRACT

Exposure to polystyrene microplastics/nanoplastics (PS‐MPs/NPs) may induce severe toxic effects in organisms. This study compared the toxicity of 2‐μm PS‐MPs and 0.1‐μm PS‐NPs by using Caenorhabditis elegans ( C. elegans ) as the experimental model. The ingestion of both particles increased with increasing exposure concentration. PS‐MPs were taken up more at 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/L, while PS‐NPs were ingested more at 100 mg/L. At concentrations ≥ 1 mg/L, both PS‐MPs and PS‐NPs negatively affected the growth, locomotion, lifespan, and reproduction of C. elegans and induced oxidative stress. At concentrations of 10–100 mg/L, PS‐MPs caused greater toxicity in terms of locomotion, reproduction, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) induction. Notably, the PS‐MPs/NPs ingested by the parental generation were not transmitted to offspring. This study showed the distinct toxicological impacts of PS‐MPs and PS‐NPs on C. elegans , hence enhancing comprehension of the risks to the environment posed by MPs/NPs.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2025

  • Venue

    Journal of Applied Toxicology

  • Publication date

    2025-11-11

  • Fields of study

    Not labeled

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.1002/jat.4972
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar

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