MATERIALS AND APPLICATIONS
A study by the Italian national board for new technology, energy and the environment( ENEA) has shown that polystyrene nanoplastics cause serious cellular damage in marine organisms. Nanoparticles measuring 20 nanometres are the most toxic. The study highlights the urgent need to address plastic pollution in order to protect ecosystems and human health.
NANOPLASTICS AND MARINE ORGANISMS
Italian technology plast / April 2025
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Polystyrene nanoplastics can cause cell death in marine animals. This was shown by an Enea study of in vitro fish( sea bream and rainbow trout) models, conducted in collaboration with the Italian National Research Council( CNR) and the University of Tuscia in Viterbo. It emerged that 20-nanometer polystyrene nanoparticles— a hundred times smaller than a speck of dust— caused more damage to cells than 80-nanometer ones. Furthermore, sea bream cells were found to be approximately four times more sensitive to nanoplastics than trout cells.“ The plastic particles stuck to the cell membranes, causing visible changes in their shape and structure, with damage already evident after 30 minutes of exposure. Only the 20-nanometer nanoplastics caused severe cell damage over time, leading to programmed cell death( apoptosis). Evident signs of this process included the shrinkage of the cell, the formation of protuberances on the membrane, the exposure of phosphatidylserine( a molecule essential for the functioning of the cell) on the outer surface of the membrane, a clear signal of the‘ agony’ of the cell, up to the fragmentation of the DNA”, explains Paolo Roberto Saraceni, researcher at the Enea Biotechnology RED Laboratory and co-author of the study.
ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH: AN INTERDEPENDENT CONNECTION“ The results obtained – underlines Saraceni – highlight that the health of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, with their relative impact on human health, is closely interconnected and can be dramatically compromised by the spread of nanoplastic pollution if not addressed timely”. Thanks to this study, the research-
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