Environment & Health最新文献

{"title":"Wastewater-Based Surveillance of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Reveals a Temporal Disconnect in Disease Trajectory across an Active International Land Border.","authors":"Mackenzie Beach, Ryland Corchis-Scott, Qiudi Geng, Ana M Podadera Gonzalez, Owen Corchis-Scott, Ethan Harrop, John Norton, Andrea Busch, Russell A Faust, Bridget Irwin, Mehdi Aloosh, Kenneth K S Ng, R Michael McKay","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c00168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00168","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Conventional metrics for tracking infectious diseases, including case and outbreak data and syndromic surveillance, can be resource-intensive, misleading, and comparatively slow with prolonged data collection, analysis and authentication. This study examined the 2022-2023 Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) season in a contiguous metropolitan area connected by an active international land border, affording an opportunity for comparison of the respiratory virus season spanning two independent public health jurisdictions. Time-lagged cross correlation and qualitative examination of the wastewater signals showed that the peak of the Detroit (MI, USA) RSV season predated the peak in Windsor (ON, Canada) by approximately 5 weeks. A strong positive relationship was observed between RSV N-gene concentrations in wastewater and hospitalization rates in Windsor-Essex (Kendall's τ = 0.539, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001, Spearman's ρ = 0.713, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001) as well as Detroit (Kendall's τ = 0.739, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001, Spearman's ρ = 0.888, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001). This study demonstrated that wastewater surveillance can reveal regional differences in infection dynamics between communities and can provide an independent measure of the prevalence of RSV, an underreported disease. These findings support the use of wastewater surveillance as a cost-effective tool in monitoring of RSV to enhance existing surveillance systems and to better inform public health disease mitigation strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 4","pages":"425-435"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12012658/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144045338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comprehensive Characterization of Organic Chemicals Associated with Urban Particulate Matter in China","authors":"Linlin Yao,&nbsp;Yunhe Guo,&nbsp;Yi Wang,&nbsp;Junya Li,&nbsp;Jiazheng Sun,&nbsp;Yanna Liu*,&nbsp;Jianbo Shi,&nbsp;Guangbo Qu* and Guibin Jiang,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c0022910.1021/envhealth.4c00229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00229https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00229","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is considered a health hazard; however, the inadequate identification of the components of PM limits our understanding of its specific toxic pollutants. Herein, by combining three extraction solvents with different polarities (dichloromethane, hexane, and acetonitrile) and three ionization modes (electron ionization and the positive and negative modes of electrospray ionization), we comprehensively analyzed the organic chemicals in the PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ samples collected during summer and winter in Beijing. Suspect screening was facilitated by comparison with the mzCloud and the National Institute of Standards and Technology databases for tentatively characterizing chemical identities. Results showed that more compounds were identified in the winter PM_2.5/PM₁₀ samples than in the summer samples and that PM_2.5 contained a greater number of chemicals than PM₁₀. Based on peak areas of compounds, the predominant pollutants in the winter PM_2.5/PM₁₀ samples were phenols, amines, and aromatic compounds; however, significantly high responses of one phenol and two ester compounds were detected in the summer PM_2.5/PM₁₀ samples. Based on the Tox21 toxicological database, a total of 60 identified pollutants were associated with 28 biological targets, and ∼50% of the active compounds were phenolic and aromatic compounds. The biological targets most affected by these pollutants were related to metabolic homeostasis, reproduction, and developmental functions. This study underscores the importance of a multiapproach analysis in comprehensively identifying environmental pollutants and highlights the potential health risks posed by PM.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 5","pages":"504–514 504–514"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/envhealth.4c00229","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Wastewater-Based Surveillance of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Reveals a Temporal Disconnect in Disease Trajectory across an Active International Land Border","authors":"Mackenzie Beach,&nbsp;Ryland Corchis-Scott,&nbsp;Qiudi Geng,&nbsp;Ana M. Podadera Gonzalez,&nbsp;Owen Corchis-Scott,&nbsp;Ethan Harrop,&nbsp;John Norton,&nbsp;Andrea Busch,&nbsp;Russell A. Faust,&nbsp;Bridget Irwin,&nbsp;Mehdi Aloosh,&nbsp;Kenneth K. S. Ng and R. Michael McKay*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c0016810.1021/envhealth.4c00168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00168https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00168","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Conventional metrics for tracking infectious diseases, including case and outbreak data and syndromic surveillance, can be resource-intensive, misleading, and comparatively slow with prolonged data collection, analysis and authentication. This study examined the 2022–2023 Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) season in a contiguous metropolitan area connected by an active international land border, affording an opportunity for comparison of the respiratory virus season spanning two independent public health jurisdictions. Time-lagged cross correlation and qualitative examination of the wastewater signals showed that the peak of the Detroit (MI, USA) RSV season predated the peak in Windsor (ON, Canada) by approximately 5 weeks. A strong positive relationship was observed between RSV N-gene concentrations in wastewater and hospitalization rates in Windsor-Essex (Kendall’s τ = 0.539, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001, Spearman’s ρ = 0.713, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001) as well as Detroit (Kendall’s τ = 0.739, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001, Spearman’s ρ = 0.888, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001). This study demonstrated that wastewater surveillance can reveal regional differences in infection dynamics between communities and can provide an independent measure of the prevalence of RSV, an underreported disease. These findings support the use of wastewater surveillance as a cost-effective tool in monitoring of RSV to enhance existing surveillance systems and to better inform public health disease mitigation strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 4","pages":"425–435 425–435"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/envhealth.4c00168","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143842307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toxic Alerts of Endocrine Disruption Revealed by Explainable Artificial Intelligence.","authors":"Lucca Caiaffa Santos Rosa, Mariam Sarhan, Andre Silva Pimentel","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c00218","DOIUrl":"10.1021/envhealth.4c00218","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The local interpretable model-agnostic explanation method was used to unveil substructures (toxic alerts) that cause endocrine disruption in chemical compounds using machine learning models. The random forest classifier was applied to build explainable models with the TOX21 data sets after data curation. Using these models applied to the EDC and EDKB-FDA data sets, the substructures that cause endocrine disruption in chemical compounds were unveiled, providing stable, more specific, and consistent explanations, which are essential for trust and acceptance of the findings, mainly due to the difficulty of finding relevant experimental evidence for different receptors (androgen, estrogen, aryl hydrocarbon, aromatase, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors). This approach is significant because of its contribution to the interpretability of explainable machine learning algorithms, particularly in the context of unveiling substructures associated with endocrine disruption in five targets (androgen receptor, estrogen receptor, aryl hydrocarbon receptors, aromatase receptors, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors), thereby advancing the relevant field of environmental toxicology, where a careful evaluation of the potential risks of exposure to new compounds is needed. The specific substructures thiophosphate, sulfamate, anilide, carbamate, sulfamide, and thiocyanate are presented as toxic alerts that cause endocrine disruption to better understand their potential risks and adverse effects on human health and the environment.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 3","pages":"321-333"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11934200/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143721673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exposure–Response Associations of Ambient Heavy Metal and Persistent Organic Pollutant with All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study","authors":"Feifei Zhang,&nbsp;Chuan-Guo Guo,&nbsp;Chao Yang,&nbsp;Fulin Wang,&nbsp;Wanzhou Wang and Luxia Zhang*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c0019110.1021/envhealth.4c00191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00191https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00191","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The exposure–response associations of ambient heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with mortality in the general population remain unclear. This cohort study aimed to explore the long-term effect of exposure to four air pollutants, including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] on all-cause and cause-specific mortality. This study involved 497,056 participants from the UK Biobank cohort. We used the Cox proportional hazards model to calculate associations. Effects of joint exposure to heavy metals were estimated using quantile g-computation. Shape of the exposure–response association was examined by fitting penalty splines, in both the total population and subpopulations stratified by age, sex, smoking status, and genetic factors. Modifying effects of age, sex, smoking status, and genetic factors were also examined. Over a median follow-up of 13.7 years, we identified 39,530 (8.0%) deaths. Exposure to mixtures of Pb, Cd, and Hg was associated with 1.040–1.154 times increased risk of all-cause cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and respiratory disease mortality. Of the specific causes of mortality, Pb and Cd were most strongly associated with respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, followed by ischemic heart disease, CVD, and cancer. Hg and B(a)P seemed to exhibit lower toxicity compared with Pb and Cd. Exposure–response curves demonstrated monotonically increased risk for most mortality outcomes, though Hg was found to be nonlinearly associated with all-cause and stroke mortality. Age, smoking status, and genetic factors were found to modify the susceptibility to heavy metals. Our findings suggested that long-term exposure to heavy metals and B(a)P was monotonically associated with elevated risk of multiple mortality outcomes, indicating there may be no safe threshold for these chemicals. Substantial benefits to public health could be achieved through stringent environmental regulations and clean air initiatives.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 5","pages":"493–503 493–503"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/envhealth.4c00191","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toxic Alerts of Endocrine Disruption Revealed by Explainable Artificial Intelligence","authors":"Lucca Caiaffa Santos Rosa,&nbsp;Mariam Sarhan and Andre Silva Pimentel*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c0021810.1021/envhealth.4c00218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00218https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00218","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The local interpretable model-agnostic explanation method was used to unveil substructures (toxic alerts) that cause endocrine disruption in chemical compounds using machine learning models. The random forest classifier was applied to build explainable models with the TOX21 data sets after data curation. Using these models applied to the EDC and EDKB-FDA data sets, the substructures that cause endocrine disruption in chemical compounds were unveiled, providing stable, more specific, and consistent explanations, which are essential for trust and acceptance of the findings, mainly due to the difficulty of finding relevant experimental evidence for different receptors (androgen, estrogen, aryl hydrocarbon, aromatase, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors). This approach is significant because of its contribution to the interpretability of explainable machine learning algorithms, particularly in the context of unveiling substructures associated with endocrine disruption in five targets (androgen receptor, estrogen receptor, aryl hydrocarbon receptors, aromatase receptors, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors), thereby advancing the relevant field of environmental toxicology, where a careful evaluation of the potential risks of exposure to new compounds is needed. The specific substructures thiophosphate, sulfamate, anilide, carbamate, sulfamide, and thiocyanate are presented as toxic alerts that cause endocrine disruption to better understand their potential risks and adverse effects on human health and the environment.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 3","pages":"321–333 321–333"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/envhealth.4c00218","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143666831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distinctively Different Effects of Perfluorobutanoic Acid and Perfluorononanoic Acid on Zebrafish Sex Differentiation and Androgen Receptor Activity","authors":"Tingyu Lu,&nbsp;Wei Zheng,&nbsp;Yuyang Lei,&nbsp;Fanglin Hu,&nbsp;Minjie Li* and Liang-Hong Guo*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c0024010.1021/envhealth.4c00240","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00240https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00240","url":null,"abstract":"<p >With the prohibition of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the emergence of alternative perfluoroalkyl substances such as perfluorobutanonic acid (PFBA) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) in various environmental matrices has led to concerns about their adverse effects on humans and biota. This study aims to investigate the reproductive and developmental toxicity of PFBA and PFNA by combined <i>in vivo</i>, <i>in vitro</i>, and <i>in silico</i> approaches. Examination of juvenile zebrafish exposed to PFBA at environmental concentrations by histopathology, sex hormone, and gene expression revealed accelerated development of zebrafish toward males, while exposure to PFNA during sex differentiation resulted in feminization. In accordance with the <i>in vivo</i> results, PFBA activated the androgen receptor (AR) signaling pathway, but PFNA inhibited it in both prostate cancer cell proliferation and luciferase reporter gene assays. Similarly, the differential binding mode of the two chemicals to AR was shown in the molecular docking analysis, with PFBA exhibiting higher potency for the agonist conformation and PFNA favoring the antagonistic conformation. Together, these results suggest that, while PFNA exhibited similar effects on sex differentiation and AR activity as PFOA, PFBA showed distinctive effects and deserves particular attention and further investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 5","pages":"482–492 482–492"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/envhealth.4c00240","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067830","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dust Fall Microplastics from a Megacity of China Inhibit Autophagy via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR Pathway","authors":"Yajing Ma,&nbsp;Jinjin Yu,&nbsp;Jian Sun*,&nbsp;Yuantong Zhu,&nbsp;Xuan Li,&nbsp;Xinyao Liu,&nbsp;Xinya Zhang,&nbsp;Lingyi Liu,&nbsp;Lingli Li,&nbsp;Jiaer Yang,&nbsp;Weifeng Li,&nbsp;Kin-Fai Ho,&nbsp;Zhenxing Shen* and Xiaofeng Niu*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c0020010.1021/envhealth.4c00200","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00200https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00200","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The problem of microplastics (MPs) pollution has caused many health risks to residents of Chinese cities. In this study, nine kinds of MPs or microrubbers (MRs) from dust fall (DF) in Xi’an, a megacity in northwestern China, were measured by pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy, namely, polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon 88, polybutylene, polytetrafluorethylene, polyisoprene, polyvinyl chloride, natural rubber, and synthesis rubber. Here, 51.20% of MPs were extracted from the original DF (samples denoted DF-O). After the subtracting procedure, MPs and their residual (DF-S samples) were divided into two parts. Our results indicated that the DF-O and MPs samples exhibited higher cytotoxicity, inflammatory, and oxidative stress levels than the DF-S samples did. The DF-O and MPs samples suppressed autophagy by decreasing expression levels of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3B), p-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (p-PI3K), phosphorylated AKT protein (p-Akt), and p-mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) while increasing the level of p62. Meanwhile, DF-O and MPs samples induced apoptosis through increasing levels of Bax/Bcl-2 and Cleaved Caspase-3/Caspase-3 in Raw264.7 cells. These trends could be reversed through removing half of the MPs in DF-O. Therefore, dust fall microplastics inhibited autophagy and induced apoptosis via activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, increasing the Bax/Bcl-2 and Cleaved Caspase-3/Caspase-3 ratios. Here we provide a comprehensive perspective into the studies of atmospheric MPs pollution status and mechanisms of inhalation toxicity for health risk assessment of MPs in DF.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 5","pages":"469–481 469–481"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/envhealth.4c00200","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of Household Solid Fuel Combustion on Blood Pressure: Mechanisms and Implications","authors":"Meixuan Liu,&nbsp;Hongmei Xu*,&nbsp;Yunxuan Gu,&nbsp;Jianhong Zhu,&nbsp;Hongai Zhang,&nbsp;Hongwei Lu,&nbsp;Jian Sun,&nbsp;Zhenxing Shen and Junji Cao,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c0018210.1021/envhealth.4c00182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00182https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00182","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Rural households in northwest China rely on solid fuels as their main heating energy source in winter, leading to negative health outcomes. This study assessed the concentrations of personal exposure to size-resolved particulate matter and gaseous pollutants (NO₂, CO, and O₃) and their effects on biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in 129 rural residents who use solid fuels in the Fenwei Plain in winter. The results showed that NO₂ exposure significantly increased IL-6 and TNF-α in urine (u), O₃ exposure significantly increased 8-OHdG and IL-10 in urine (u), and CO exposure caused significantly increased 8-OHdG in blood (b). Four urine biomarkers positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP); 8-OHdG-b was significantly positively correlated with both SBP and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Mediation analysis showed that O₃ and CO mediated the association between IL-10-u and SBP and 8-OHdG-b with SBP. O₃ and CO exposure caused by domestic solid fuel combustion may lead to an increase in human SBP by mediating systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. The study emphasizes the urgency of improving rural household heating methods and reducing air pollution to alleviate the burden of diseases associated with hypertension and provides a scientific basis for understanding the pathogenesis and early prevention of hypertension among rural residents in northwest China.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 5","pages":"458–468 458–468"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/envhealth.4c00182","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Photoaging Promotes Toxic Micro/Nanoplastics Release from PLA/PBAT Biodegradable Plastic in Gastrointestinal Condition","authors":"Xuri Wu,&nbsp;Han Zhang,&nbsp;Jingwen Chen,&nbsp;Feng Tan*,&nbsp;Rui Cai* and Yan Wang,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/envhealth.4c0020910.1021/envhealth.4c00209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00209https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00209","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The release of micro/nanoplastics (MNPs) from biodegradable plastics in gastrointestinal environments due to photoaging, along with their associated mechanisms and potential cytotoxicity, is largely unknown. Here, we show that poly(lactic acid)/poly(butylene adipate-<i>co</i>-terephthalate) (PLA/PBAT) films undergo ultraviolet photoaging, resulting in increased surface roughness and a higher quantity of MNPs on the surface. This aging process involves the generation of carbon- and oxygen-centered free radicals, chain scission, and the formation of oxidation products with hydroxyl and carbonyl groups. These MNPs can be released under water shear force, significantly increasing the normalized mass loss of aged films to approximately 0.128 mg/cm² (18 times higher than that of unaged films in water). In the gastrointestinal environment, the normalized mass loss further increases to about 0.196 mg/cm² (28 times higher), likely due to potential enzymatic digestion and ion-swelling effects. These MNPs, primarily composed of PLA, are smaller and carry more negative charges under gastrointestinal conditions. In the THP-1 cell model, these MNPs affect cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. MNPs obtained through ultrafiltration, compared to those collected via centrifugation, display a broader size distribution and induce more pronounced toxicity in THP-1 cells, with an EC₅₀ of 243 mg/L. Preliminary comparative analysis indicates that PLA/PBAT-derived MNPs present toxicity risks comparable to, or greater than, those of conventional plastic MNPs. These findings underscore the potential hazards associated with biodegradable plastics.</p>","PeriodicalId":29795,"journal":{"name":"Environment & Health","volume":"3 5","pages":"446–457 446–457"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/envhealth.4c00209","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}