Polyethylene, whose surface has been modified by UV irradiation, induces cytotoxicity: A comparison with microplastics found in beaches
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Microplastics, plastic particles 5 mm or less in size, are abundant in the environment; hence, the exposure of humans to microplastics is a great concern. Usually, the surface of microplastics found in the environment has undergone degradation by external factors such as ultraviolet rays and water waves. One of the characteristics of changes caused by surface degradation of microplastics is the introduction of oxygen-containing functional groups. Surface degradation alters the physicochemical properties of plastics, suggesting that the biological effects of environmentally degraded plastics may differ from those of pure plastics. However, the biological effects of plastics introduced with oxygen-containing functional groups through degradation are poorly elucidated owing to the lack of a plastic sample that imitates the degradation state of plastics found in the environment. In this study, we investigated the degradation state of microplastics collected from a beach. Next, we degraded a commercially available polyethylene (PE) particles via vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) irradiation and showed that chemical surface state of PE imitates that of microplastics in the environment. We evaluated the cytotoxic effects of degraded PE samples on immune and epithelial cell lines. We found that VUV irradiation was effective in degrading PE within a short period, and concentration-dependent cytotoxicity was induced by degraded PE in all cell lines. Our results indicate that the cytotoxic effect of PE on different cell types depends on the degree of microplastic degradation, which contributes to our understanding of the effects of PE microplastics on humans.
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Fragments exposed to UV-radiation or weathering are often more toxic to ingesting organisms than raw plastic particles.
“The fragments that are exposed to UV-radiation or weathering are often more toxic to ingesting organisms than the raw plastic particles [130–132].”
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Ikuno, Y., Tsujino, H., Haga, Y., Manabe, S., Idehara, W., Hokaku, M., Asahara, H., Higashisaka, K., & Tsutsumi, Y.
- Affiliations
- The University of Osaka (JP)
- Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (JP)
- Institute for Advanced Co-Creation Studies, The University of Osaka (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Tsujino, Hirofumi
- Tsutsumi, Yasuo
- Venue
- Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2024-06
- Volume
- 277
- Pages
- 116346
- ISSN
- 0147-6513 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4395475613
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 1.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- OUKA (Osaka University Knowledge Archive) (Osaka University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Sumitomo Foundation
- Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (JP23ama121054.)
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JP23ama121054, JPMJSP2138, JP21387863)
- Japan Science and Technology Agency (JPMJSP 2138)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Keywords
- polyethylene, microplastics, UV irradiation, surface degradation, oxygen-containing functional groups, cytotoxicity, immune cells, epithelial cells, human exposure to microplastics
- MeSH terms
- Microplastics, Animals, Bathing Beaches, Cell Line, Cell Survival, Humans, Plastics, Ultraviolet Rays, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Polyethylene
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