Potentially Poisonous Plastic Particles: Microplastics as a Vector for Cyanobacterial Toxins Microcystin-LR and Microcystin-LF
Carlos J. Pestana, Diana S. Moura, José Capelo Neto, Christine Edwards, Domenic Dreisbach, Bernhard Spengler, Linda A. Lawton
Abstract
. Based on the experimental results, and assuming a worst-case scenario, potential toxin doses for daphnids are calculated based on published microplastic ingestion data. Progressing up through trophic levels, theoretically, the concentration of microcystins in organisms is discussed. The experimental results indicate that adsorption of microcystins onto microplastics is a multifactorial process, depending on the particle size, the variable amino acid composition of the microcystins, the type of plastic, and pH. Furthermore, the results of the current study stressed the limitations of exclusively investigating microcystin-LR (the most commonly studied microcystin congener) as a model compound representing a group of around 250 reported microcystin congeners.