"Ecotoxicity of Polyvinylidene Difluoride (PVDF) and Polylactic Acid (PLA) Microplastics in Marine Zooplankton"

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Epifluorescence of PVDF and PLA stained with Nile red in Aurelia sp. ephyrae jellyfish acquired together with holotomogram.

Epifluorescenza di PVDF e PLA colorato con rosso Nilo in Aurelia sp. meduse ephyrae acquisite insieme all'olotomogramma. Entrambi i materiali (colore rosso che rappresenta il canale di fluorescenza; indice di rifrazione 1,42 per PVDF e 1,4 per PLA) sono localizzati all'interno del corpo gelatinoso (intervallo di indice 1,355–1,378) dopo 24 ore di esposizione. Le barre equivalgono a 30 μm.

Post publication date: 
Thursday, September 15, 2022

A new article has just been released: it is the result of the activity done in November 2021, a collaboration with CNR-ISMAR (Genoa UOS) and Schaefer South-East Europe, in which the Tomocube HT-2H has been used to do holotomographic imaging on the samples.

The abstract: "The aim of this study was to investigate the ecotoxicity of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) and polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics (MPs) in two marine zooplankton: the crustacean Artemia franciscana and the cnidarian Aurelia sp. (common jellyfish). To achieve this goal, (i) MP uptake, (ii) immobility, and (iii) behavior (swimming speed, pulsation mode) of crustacean larval stages and jellyfish ephyrae exposed to MPs concentrations (1, 10, 100 mg/L) were assessed for 24 h. Using traditional and novel techniques, i.e., epifluorescence microscopy and 3D holotomography (HT), PVDF and PLA MPs were found in the digestive systems of the crustaceans and in the gelatinous tissue of jellyfish. Immobility was not affected in either organism, while a significant behavioral alteration in terms of pulsation mode was found in jellyfish after exposure to both PVDF and PLA MPs. Moreover, PLA MPs exposure in jellyfish induced a toxic effect (EC50: 77.43 mg/L) on the behavioral response. This study provides new insights into PLA and PVDF toxicity with the potential for a large impact on the marine ecosystem, since jellyfish play a key role in the marine food chain. However, further investigations incorporating additional species belonging to other trophic levels are paramount to better understand and clarify the impact of such polymers at micro scale in the marine environment. These findings suggest that although PVDF and PLA have been recently proposed as innovative and, in the case of PLA, biodegradable polymers, their effects on marine biota should not be underestimated."

Related products 

Tomocube HT-2 - Microscopio olotomografico con imaging 3D in fluorescenza
Holotomographic microscopy with 3D fluorescence imaging capability

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