Uptake and Retention of Nanoplastics in Quagga Mussels

Global Challenges

Mark M. Banaszak Holl¹  Taylor L. Soucy²  Monica Olszewski²  Isabel Colón‐Bernal²  Lauren Purser²  Rachel L. Merzel²  Melissa Duhaime³  Ashley K. Elgin⁴ 

[1] Chemical Engineering Monash University Clayton VIC 3800 Australia;Chemistry Department University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI 48109 USA;Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI 48109 USA;NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory Lake Michigan Field Station Muskegon MI 49441 USA;

关键词: AFM‐IR;    microplastics;    mussels;    nanoplastics;    PT‐IR;   

DOI  :  10.1002/gch2.201800104

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Here, a set of experiments to assess the feasibility of using an invasive and widespread freshwater mussel (Dreissena rostrformis bugensis) as a sentinel species for nanoplastic detection is reported. Under laboratory experimental conditions, mussels ingest and retain fluorescent polystyrene (PS) beads with carboxylic acid (COOH) termination over a size range of 200–2000 nm. The number of beads the mussels ingested is quantified using fluorescence spectroscopy and the location of the beads in the mussels is imaged using fluorescence microscopy. PS beads of similar size (1000–2000 nm) to mussels' preferred food are trafficked in the ciliated food grooves of the gills. Beads of all sizes are observed in the mussels' digestive tracts, indicating that the mussels do not efficiently reject the beads as unwanted foreign material, regardless of size. Fluorescence microscopy shows all sizes of beads are concentrated in the siphons and are retained there for longer than one month postexposure. Combined atomic force microscopy–infrared spectroscopy and photothermal infrared spectroscopy are used to locate, image, and chemically identify the beads in the mussel siphons. In sum, these experiments demonstrate the potential for using mussels, specifically their siphons, to monitor environmental accumulation of aquatic nanoplastics.

【 授权许可】

Unknown