Table 2 Overview of the ecotoxicity studies on microplastics derived from polypropylene
Species | MPs | Exposure time | Effects | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Form | Dimension (μm) | Source material | Mode of preparation | Test concentrations | ||||
amphipod Hyalella Azteca (Crustacea) | Fibres | Diameter: 20 Length: 20–75 | Aged marine fishing rope (3 years under ambient conditions) | Cutting the rope by scissors | 0–90 fibres mL− 1 | 10 days | ↑ Mortality, ↓ Growth, ↓Weight; ↑ egestion time; Fibres not retained in the gut LOEC = 45 fibres mL− 1 | [49] |
shrimp Palaemonetes pugio (Crustacea) | Fibres | a) Diameter: 30–38 b) Diameter:80–105 Length: not defined | Aged marine fishing rope (3 years under ambient conditions) | Cutting the rope by scissors | 50,000 fibres L−1 | 96 h | a) no effect b) ↑ Mortality | [50] |
shrimp Palaemonetes pugio (Crustacea) | Fragments, irregular shapes | 30–38 80–105 | Purchased, TWOH Chem | Sieving the powder | 50,000 particles L− 1 | 96 h | No effect | [50] |
shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (Crustacea) | Fragments, spherical, rod-shaped, sheet-like | 1.77–18 | Purchased, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation | Used as received | 1 mg L−1 | 14 days | Changes in gut microbial composition ↑ proteome expression related to moult processes and metabolism Changed metabolic profile No effect on immune related proteome expression | [51] |
decapod Nephrops norvegicus (Crustacea) | Fibres | Diameter: 200 Length: 3000–5000 | Fishing rope | Fibres were removed from twisted split rope | Adding 5 fibres every two days. Total fibres at the end: 360 | 8 months | ↓ Feeding rate; ↓ Body mass ↓ Metabolic rate Retention of fibres in foregut | [52] |
mole crab Emerita analoga (Crustacea) | Fibres | Diameter: 100 Length: 1000 | Fishing rope | Cutting the rope by scissors | 3 fibres L−1 | 72 days | ↑ Mortality ↓ Reproductive success | [53] |
nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (Annelida) | Fragments, irregular shapes | < 70 | Purchased, Sigma-Aldrich | Ground with mortar, sieved < 200 μm | 0.5–5.0 mg m−2 (agar plate) | 48 h | ↑ Mortality; ↓ growth; ↓ Reproductive success; ↑ stress genes LOEC = 0.5 mg m− 2 | [54] |
nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (Annelida) | Fragments, irregular shapes | Three size ranges: a) < 250, b) 250–630, c) 630–1000 | Obtained from Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und prüfung (Berlin, Germany) | Cryo-milling; sieving < 1000 μm | 0.01, 0.1 and 1% w/w soil | 24 h | a) ↓ reproduction at 1% b, c) no effect | [55] |
ragworm Hediste diversicolor (Annelida) | Fragments, irregular shapes | < 400 | Purchased, supplier not provided | Cryo-milling; sieving < 400 μm | 1 and 5% w/w sediment | 10 days | ↓ coelomocytes viability, ↓ phenoloxidase, ↓ acid phosphatase, no effect on phagocytic activity; LOEC = 10 mg kg− 1 | [56] |
oyster Crassostrea gigas (Mollusca) | Fragments, irregular shapes | < 400 | Purchased, supplier not provided | Cryo-milling; sieving < 400 μm | 0.008, 10, 100 μg L− 1 | 10 days | No effects on clearance rate of organisms, tissue alteration, antioxidant defence, immune response and DNA damage. | [57] |
mussel Mytilus spp (Mollusca) | Fragments, irregular shapes | < 400 | Purchased, supplier not provided | Cryo-milling; sieving < 400 μm | 1 and 1000 mg L− 1 | 10 days | ↑ antioxidant response No effect on the clearance rate, and histopathological parameters | [58] |
mussel Perna viridis (Mollusca) | Fragments, irregular shapes | < 30 30–300 300–1000 | Provided by the Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Thailand | Used as received | 66, 333, 666, and 1333 particles L−1 | 96 h | Total mortality after 96 h, After 72 h 67%, 63% and 70% mortality for the small, medium and large particles, respectively. About 90% of the available MPs were rejected as pseudofaeces by the mussels, with approximately 10% of MPs being ingested and accumuled in the soft tissue. | [59] |
clam Donax trunculus (Mollusca) | Fragments, irregular shapes | 100–400 | Purchased, supplier not provided, mixture of pellets from PP and PE | Cryo-milling; sieving < 400 μm | 0.06 g kg− 1 of sand | 3 h, 1, 2, 3, 4,7,10 and 15 days | ↑ oxidative stress ↓ acetylcholinesterase activity | [60] |
barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite (Crustacea) | a) plastic square b) leachate from plastic | a) 4 cm2 b) 0.50 m2 plastic in 1 L seawater | Storage Container | a) Cutting b) Soaking for 24 h | b) 0.1 and 0.5 m2 L− 1 | 24 h, 48 h, 96 h | a) 24 h–96 h: ↑ Mortality; ↓ Settlement b) 24 h: ↑ Mortality; ↓ Settlement | [47] |
microalgae Spirulina sp | Fibres | Diameter: 15 Length: 1000 | Purchased fibres | Cutting | 300, 500, 550 mg L−1 | 112 days | ↓ growth LOEC = 300 mg L− 1 | [61] |
algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Algae) | Fragments, irregular shapes | < 400–1000 | Disposable cup lid | Cutting to 1 cm, cryo-milling; sieving < 400 μm | 1000 mg L− 1 | 72 days | No effect on growth up to 60 days, ↓ growth after 72 days ↑ stress genes, e.g. polysaccharide biosynthesis ↑ formation of polypropylene-algae hetero-aggregates | [62] |
algae Chlorella pyrenoidosa; Microcystis flosaquae (Algae) | Fragments, irregular shapes | ~ 172 | Purchased, Aladdin Industrial Corporation | Used as received | 5, 10, 50, 100, 250, 500 mg L− 1 | 11 days | ↓ chlorophyll content ↓ photosynthetic activity LOEC = 5 mg L− 1, no clear dose-response | [63] |
algae Chlorella sp. (Algae) | Fragments, irregular shapes | 100–300, 300–500, and 500–700 | Plastic bag | Cutting to smaller particles, ground with cryogenic mill, sieving | 10, 250, 500, 750, and 1000 mg L− 1 | 3 days | ↓ growth, but very small rate of inhibition | [64] |
fish Danio rerio (embryo) | undefined | undefined | Purchased, Sigma-Aldrich | undefined | 1 mg L−1 and 10 mg L− 1 | 96 h | ↑ pericardial sac area No effect total body size | [65] |
fish Danio rerio (larvae, adults) | Fibres | Diameter 20, length: 50 ± 26 and 200 ± 90 | Not reported | Cutting with cryogenic microtome | 10 and 100 μg L− 1 | 48 h larvae, 21 days adults | ↑intestinal damage, larger effect for long fibres ↑ oxidative stress, inflammation and lipid depletion in the larvae gut; larger effect for long fibres ↓decreased feeding Changed metabolic profile, disruption in lipid metabolism | [66] |
fish Danio rerio (adults) | Fragments, irregular shapes | < 70 | Purchased, Sigma-Aldrich | Ground with mortar, sieved < 200 μm | 0.001–10.0 mg L− 1 | 10 days | ↑ Mortality; LOEC = 10 mg/L intestinal damage | [54] |
fish Danio rerio (adults) | Fragments, irregular shapes | 1–15 | Purchased, Huachuang plastic material Co. Ltd. | Ground with pulverizing and filtering | 0.2 mg L−1 | 28 days | ↑ lipid peroxidation in the gut ↓ superoxide dismutase in liver Possible oxidative stress | [67] |
fish Pimephales promelas (embryo) | Fragments, irregular shapes | 150 to 500 | Purchased, ASPX company | Ground using a burmill coffee grinder, sieved 150 μm < 500 μm, | 280 and 2800 particles/L or 1.43 mg L−1and 14.3 mg L− 1, respectively. | 14 days | ↑ body weight No effect on hatching success, survival, and length | [68] |
fish Dicentrarchus labrax (adults) | Fragments, irregular shapes | 700–1000 | Purchased, Sigma-Aldrich | Ground with a cutting mill, sieving to obtain the 700–1000 μm fraction | 10% w/w | 60 days | No effect on growth No effect on gut histology ↑ immune-related genes | [69] |
earthworm Metaphire guillelmi (Annelida) | Fragments, irregular shapes | 13 | Purchased, Huachuang Plasticizing Corporation | Used as received | 0.25% w/w soil | 28 days | No changes in gut microbiota | [70] |
earthworms Eisenia fetida (Annelida) | Fragments, irregular shapes | 8–125, 71–383 and 761–1660 | Purchased, Huachuang Plasticizing Corporation | Grinding with liquid nitrogen | 0.25% w/w soil | 14 days, 28 days | ↓ antioxidant enzymes activities (14 d, 28 d) ↑ DNA damage (28 d) No changes in lipid peroxidation (28 d) | [71] |
earthworms Eisenia fetida (Annelida) | Fragments, irregular shapes | < 150 | Purchased, Sigma-Aldrich | Mechanically ground, sieving < 150 μm | 0.03, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9% w/w | 14 days, 28 days, 42 days | ↓ growth (14, 21 and 42 days); LOEC = 0.6% ↑ mortality (42 days), LOEC = 0.3% ↑ lipid peroxidation (14, 21 and 42 days); LOEC = 0.03%; ↑ antioxidant levels (14, 21 and 42 days); LOEC = 0.3% | [72] |
White worm Enchytraeus crypticus (Annelida) | Fragments, irregular shapes | 49 141 1520 | Not reported | Cryo-milling, sanding, sieving | 0.032, 0.1, 0.32, 0.64% w/w | 64 days | No effect on reproduction | [73] |
springtails Folsomia candida (Entognatha) earthworms Eisenia Andrei (Annelida) | Fibres and fragments | < 300 | Triple-layered disposable white face masks | cut using micro-scissors, and sieved < 300 μm | 0.1% w/w | 28 days | ↓ reproduction and growth of juveniles springtails No effect on survival, esterase activity, oxidative stress, and light avoidance behavior of adult springtails ↓esterase activity and spermatogenesis of earthworms No effect on survival and oxidative stress in earthworms | [48] |
Mealworm larvae Tenebrio molitor (Insecta) | Fragments | 2000–3000 | Purchased, SINOPEC (China) and EyeIslet (China) | cut into 2–3 mm fragments | 100% (fed on this material) And 50% mixed with bran | 14 days | Decomposition and feeding occur only in case of 50% No effect on survival | [74] |
garden cress Lepidium sativum | Fibres and fragments | < 125 | Not reported | grinding, with liquid nitrogen, sieving < 125 μm | 0.02% (w/w) | 6 days, 21 days | ↓biomass, No effect on reactive oxygen species formation and antioxidants content, change ration between pigments | [75] |
plant Cucurbita pepo | Fibres and fragments | 40–50 | Purchased, Sigma-Aldrich | Not reported | 0.02, 0.1, 0.2% w/w | 28 days | ↓ root and shoot growth No effect on leaf area and photosynthesis Changes in concentrations of elements in leaves | [76] |