The adsorption of drugs on nanoplastics has severe biological impact

Micro- and nanoplastics can interact with various biologically active compounds forming aggregates of which the effects have yet to be understood. To this end, it is vital to characterize these aggregates of key compounds and micro- and nanoplastics. In this study, we examined the adsorption of the antibiotic tetracycline on four different nanoplastics, made of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and nylon 6,6 (N66) through chemical computation. Two separate approaches were employed to generate relevant conformations of the tetracycline-plastic complexes. In the first approach, we folded the plastic particle from individual polymer chains in the presence of the drug through multiple separate simulated annealing setups. In the second, more biased, approach, the neat plastic was pre-folded through simulated annealing, and the drug was placed at its surface in multiple orientations. The former approach was clearly superior to the other, obtaining lower energy conformations even with the antibiotic buried inside the plastic particle. Quantum chemical calculations on the structures revealed that the adsorption energies show a trend of decreasing affinity to the drug in the order of N66> PS> PP> PE. In vitro experiments on tetracycline-sensitive cell lines demonstrated that, in qualitative agreement with the calculations, the biological activity of tetracycline drops significantly in the presence of PS particles. Preliminary molecular dynamics simulations on two selected aggregates with each plastic served as first stability test of the aggregates under influence of temperature and in water. We found that all the selected cases persisted in water indicating that the aggregates may be stable also in more realistic environments. In summary, our data show that the interaction of micro- and nanoplastics with drugs can alter drug absorption, facilitate drug transport to new locations, and increase local antibiotic concentrations, potentially attenuating antibiotic effect and at the same time promoting antibiotic resistance.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2024-10-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-75785-4
Citations
15
Primary Topic
Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.99

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article

The adsorption of drugs on nanoplastics has severe biological impact

Barbara Kirchner, Benedek G. Plósz, Verena Kopatz, Oldamur Hollóczki et al.
15 citations
Scientific Reports
Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
1.99
article

The adsorption of drugs on nanoplastics has severe biological impact

Barbara Kirchner, Benedek G. Plósz, Verena Kopatz, Oldamur Hollóczki, Lukas Kenner, Patrick R. Batista, Paul Zaby, Gabriele Manhart, Verena Pichler, Vince Bakos, Leonard Dick, Florian Grebien, Nikola Zlatkov Kolev, Lukas Kogler
article en
15 citations

Abstract

Micro- and nanoplastics can interact with various biologically active compounds forming aggregates of which the effects have yet to be understood. To this end, it is vital to characterize these aggregates of key compounds and micro- and nanoplastics. In this study, we examined the adsorption of the antibiotic tetracycline on four different nanoplastics, made of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and nylon 6,6 (N66) through chemical computation. Two separate approaches were employed to generate relevant conformations of the tetracycline-plastic complexes. In the first approach, we folded the plastic particle from individual polymer chains in the presence of the drug through multiple separate simulated annealing setups. In the second, more biased, approach, the neat plastic was pre-folded through simulated annealing, and the drug was placed at its surface in multiple orientations. The former approach was clearly superior to the other, obtaining lower energy conformations even with the antibiotic buried inside the plastic particle. Quantum chemical calculations on the structures revealed that the adsorption energies show a trend of decreasing affinity to the drug in the order of N66> PS> PP> PE. In vitro experiments on tetracycline-sensitive cell lines demonstrated that, in qualitative agreement with the calculations, the biological activity of tetracycline drops significantly in the presence of PS particles. Preliminary molecular dynamics simulations on two selected aggregates with each plastic served as first stability test of the aggregates under influence of temperature and in water. We found that all the selected cases persisted in water indicating that the aggregates may be stable also in more realistic environments. In summary, our data show that the interaction of micro- and nanoplastics with drugs can alter drug absorption, facilitate drug transport to new locations, and increase local antibiotic concentrations, potentially attenuating antibiotic effect and at the same time promoting antibiotic resistance.

Scientific ReportsVol. 14(1)
University of Vienna (AT), University of Debrecen (HU), University of Bonn (DE), Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT), University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (AT), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR), Budapest University of Technology and Economics (HU), Comprehensive Cancer Center Vienna (AT), Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (DE), Christian Doppler Laboratory for Thermoelectricity (AT), St Anna Children's Hospital (AT), CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine (AT), Center For Biomarker Research In Medicine (AT), St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, University of Bath (GB), Medical University of Vienna (AT), Umeå University (SE)
Österreichische Nationalstiftung für Forschung, Technologie und Entwicklung, Bundesministerium für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Energie, Mobilität, Innovation und Technologie, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Austrian Science Fund, Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Wirtschaft, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, Hungarian Scientific Research Fund, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft, Christian Doppler Forschungsgesellschaft, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Siemens Healthineers, Bundesministerium für Digitalisierung und Wirtschaftsstandort, European Research Council, Nemzeti Kutatási, Fejlesztési és Innovaciós Alap, National Research, Development and Innovation Office
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 14%
Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
1.99
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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