A comparative investigation of the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to various polydisperse micro- and nanoplastics using a novel third-phase partition method
Abstract Evidence for direct adverse effects of micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) on human health is scarce, but it has been hypothesized that MNPs act as carriers for environmental pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Many studies have already investigated the sorption...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Microplastics and Nanoplastics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-022-00049-9 |
| _version_ | 1797973783274848256 |
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| author | Emeka Ephraim Emecheta Diana Borda Borda Patrizia Marie Pfohl Wendel Wohlleben Christoph Hutzler Andrea Haase Alexander Roloff |
| author_facet | Emeka Ephraim Emecheta Diana Borda Borda Patrizia Marie Pfohl Wendel Wohlleben Christoph Hutzler Andrea Haase Alexander Roloff |
| author_sort | Emeka Ephraim Emecheta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Evidence for direct adverse effects of micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) on human health is scarce, but it has been hypothesized that MNPs act as carriers for environmental pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Many studies have already investigated the sorption of PAHs to microplastics, typically using the batch-equilibrium method. Here we established a novel third-phase partition (TPP) method utilizing thermo-extractable polydimethylsiloxane-coated stir-bars as re-usable passive samplers to compare the sorption of PAHs to 17 different MNPs. This method facilitates the quantification of MNP-sorbed pollutants, including those with poor water-solubility without requiring laborious filtration and solvent-extraction steps. Using benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) as a representative PAH, sorption kinetics and isotherms for MNPs were evaluated. B[a]P sorption was generally strong but differed by over two-orders of magnitude, clustering according to polymer types in the order of polyamides > polyethylenes ≫ Tire Rubber > polyurethanes > polymethyl methacrylate. B[a]P sorption was diminished for photo-aged MNPs. Within given polymer types, properties including particle size, polarity/hydrophobicity and chain mobility notably influenced B[a]P sorption. When comparing different PAHs, their sorption to selected MNPs increased over five-orders of magnitude with hydrophobicity: anthracene < B[a]P < dibenzo[a,l]pyrene. Our data is an important contribution to the understanding of the sorption behaviors of MNPs. The novel TPP-method represents a universally-applicable approach for the reliable evaluation of sorption characteristics of contaminants and MNPs, and can be easily adapted to desorption studies. Graphical Abstract |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:09:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7f561facb56c4293a4d3e402639869df |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-4966 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:09:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microplastics and Nanoplastics |
| spelling | doaj.art-7f561facb56c4293a4d3e402639869df2023-01-01T12:12:21ZengSpringerOpenMicroplastics and Nanoplastics2662-49662022-12-012111710.1186/s43591-022-00049-9A comparative investigation of the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to various polydisperse micro- and nanoplastics using a novel third-phase partition methodEmeka Ephraim Emecheta0Diana Borda Borda1Patrizia Marie Pfohl2Wendel Wohlleben3Christoph Hutzler4Andrea Haase5Alexander Roloff6German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Chemical and Product SafetyGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Chemical and Product SafetyBASF SEBASF SEGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Chemical and Product SafetyGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Chemical and Product SafetyGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Chemical and Product SafetyAbstract Evidence for direct adverse effects of micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) on human health is scarce, but it has been hypothesized that MNPs act as carriers for environmental pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Many studies have already investigated the sorption of PAHs to microplastics, typically using the batch-equilibrium method. Here we established a novel third-phase partition (TPP) method utilizing thermo-extractable polydimethylsiloxane-coated stir-bars as re-usable passive samplers to compare the sorption of PAHs to 17 different MNPs. This method facilitates the quantification of MNP-sorbed pollutants, including those with poor water-solubility without requiring laborious filtration and solvent-extraction steps. Using benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) as a representative PAH, sorption kinetics and isotherms for MNPs were evaluated. B[a]P sorption was generally strong but differed by over two-orders of magnitude, clustering according to polymer types in the order of polyamides > polyethylenes ≫ Tire Rubber > polyurethanes > polymethyl methacrylate. B[a]P sorption was diminished for photo-aged MNPs. Within given polymer types, properties including particle size, polarity/hydrophobicity and chain mobility notably influenced B[a]P sorption. When comparing different PAHs, their sorption to selected MNPs increased over five-orders of magnitude with hydrophobicity: anthracene < B[a]P < dibenzo[a,l]pyrene. Our data is an important contribution to the understanding of the sorption behaviors of MNPs. The novel TPP-method represents a universally-applicable approach for the reliable evaluation of sorption characteristics of contaminants and MNPs, and can be easily adapted to desorption studies. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-022-00049-9sorption isothermssorption kineticsmicroplasticsnanoplasticsPAHspassive sampling |
| spellingShingle | Emeka Ephraim Emecheta Diana Borda Borda Patrizia Marie Pfohl Wendel Wohlleben Christoph Hutzler Andrea Haase Alexander Roloff A comparative investigation of the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to various polydisperse micro- and nanoplastics using a novel third-phase partition method Microplastics and Nanoplastics sorption isotherms sorption kinetics microplastics nanoplastics PAHs passive sampling |
| title | A comparative investigation of the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to various polydisperse micro- and nanoplastics using a novel third-phase partition method |
| title_full | A comparative investigation of the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to various polydisperse micro- and nanoplastics using a novel third-phase partition method |
| title_fullStr | A comparative investigation of the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to various polydisperse micro- and nanoplastics using a novel third-phase partition method |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparative investigation of the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to various polydisperse micro- and nanoplastics using a novel third-phase partition method |
| title_short | A comparative investigation of the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to various polydisperse micro- and nanoplastics using a novel third-phase partition method |
| title_sort | comparative investigation of the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to various polydisperse micro and nanoplastics using a novel third phase partition method |
| topic | sorption isotherms sorption kinetics microplastics nanoplastics PAHs passive sampling |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-022-00049-9 |
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