A potential threat from biodegradable microplastics: mechanism of cadmium adsorption and desorption in the simulated gastrointestinal environment

doi:10.1007/s11783-024-1779-4

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2024, Vol. 18

Issue (2) : 19 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-024-1779-4

RESEARCH ARTICLE

A potential threat from biodegradable microplastics: mechanism of cadmium adsorption and desorption in the simulated gastrointestinal environment

Timing Jiang^1,³, Xiang Wu^1,²(

), Shushan Yuan^1,³(

), Changfei Lai^1,³, Shijie Bian^1,³, Wenbo Yu^1,³, Sha Liang^1,³, Jingping Hu^1,³, Liang Huang^1,³, Huabo Duan^1,³, Yafei Shi⁴, Jiakuan Yang^1,^3,⁵

¹. School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
². School of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
³. Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Solid Waste Treatment Disposal and Recycling, Wuhan 430074, China
⁴. School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
⁵. State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

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Abstract

● The Cd(II) adsorption capacity followed the order of PA > PLA > PP.

● Oxygen groups played critical roles in Cd(II) adsorption by PLA MPs.

● Degradation of PLA MPs enhanced Cd(II) desorption in human digestive fluid.

● Cd(II) release was easier from PLA during human digestion than from PP or PA.

It has been demonstrated that microplastics (MPs) can accumulate heavy metals from the environment and transfer them into organisms via the food chain. However, adsorption and desorption capacities for biodegradable MPs relative to those for conventional MPs remain poorly understood. In this study, cadmium (Cd(II)) adsorption and desorption characteristics of polylactic acid (PLA), a typical biodegradable MP, were investigated. Two conventional MPs, i.e., polypropylene (PP) and polyamide (PA) were used for comparison. The maximum Cd(II) adsorption capacities of the MPs studied in the adsorption experiments decreased in the order PA (0.96 ± 0.07 mg/g) > PLA (0.64 ± 0.04 mg/g) > PP (0.22 ± 0.03 mg/g). The Pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isothermal model described the Cd(II) adsorption behaviors of PLA MPs well. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and two-dimensional Fourier transform infrared correlation spectroscopy analysis indicated that oxygen functional groups were the major and preferential binding sites of PLA MPs, which contributed to their high Cd(II) adsorption capacities. Simulated gastric and intestinal fluids both significantly enhanced the desorption capacities of the examined MPs. Notably, degradation of the PLA MPs during in vitro human digestion made the Cd(II) on the PLA MPs more bioaccessible (19% in the gastric phase and 62% in the intestinal phase) than Cd(II) on the PP and PA MPs. These results indicate the remarkable capacities of biodegradable MPs to accumulate Cd(II) and transfer it to the digestive system and show that biodegradable MPs might pose more severe threats to human health than conventional nonbiodegradable MPs.

Keywords Biodegradable microplastics Cadmium Adsorption and desorption Gastrointestinal environment Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy Bioaccessibility

Corresponding Author(s): Xiang Wu,Shushan Yuan

Issue Date: 12 October 2023

Cite this article:

Timing Jiang,Xiang Wu,Shushan Yuan, et al. A potential threat from biodegradable microplastics: mechanism of cadmium adsorption and desorption in the simulated gastrointestinal environment[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2024, 18(2): 19.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-024-1779-4
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2024/V18/I2/19

Fig.1 SEM images of PLA, PP, and PA microplastics (MPs) on a scale of 5 μm: original MPs (a, b, c), MPs after adsorption (d, e, f), MPs in the gastric phase (g, h, i), and MPs in the intestinal phase (j, k, l).

Tab.1 Fitting parameters of kinetic models for adsorption of Cd(II) on PLA, PP, and PA microplastics (MPs) (the Cd(II) concentration = 100 mg/L, and the MP dose = 10 g/L)

Fig.2 Kinetics for adsorption of Cd(II) on PLA, PP, and PA microplastics (MPs) and fits with the (a) Pseudo-first-order and Pseudo-second-order models, (b) film diffusion model, and (c) intraparticle diffusion model.

Tab.2 Fitting parameters of Isotherm models for Cd(II) adsorption on PLA, PP, and PA microplastics (MPs) (Cd(II) concentration = 10–200 mg/L, and equilibrium time = 72 h)

Fig.3 Isotherms for adsorption of Cd(II) on PLA, PP, and PA microplastics (MPs): (a) original data, (b) Langmuir model, and (c) Freundlich model.

Tab.3 Atomic percentages (%) from XPS analyses of the elements on the PLA, PP, and PA microplastics (MPs) before and after Cd(II) adsorption

Fig.4 XPS C 1s spectra of (a) PLA, (b) PP, and (c) PA microplastics (MPs) before and after Cd(II) adsorption.

Tab.4 C 1s and O 1s component peaks for the PLA microplastics (MPs) before and after Cd(II) adsorption

Fig.5 2D FTIR COS maps for the microplastics (MPs): (a) synchronous and (b) asynchronous maps for the PLA MPs; (c) synchronous and (d) asynchronous maps for the PA MPs; (e) synchronous and (f) asynchronous maps for the PP MPs. The red and blue colors in the maps indicate positive and negative correlations, respectively.

Fig.6 In vitro assay results for PLA, PP, and PA microplastics (MPs) in the simulated gastric and intestinal phases: (a) adsorbed (initial) and desorbed Cd(II) amounts (mg/g); (b) bioaccessibility (%) of Cd(II) adsorbed on MPs; (c) lactic acid concentrations (mmol/L) of the filtered gastric and intestinal fluids. Statistically significant differences were determined with one-way ANOVA (n.s.: not significant; ***P < 0.001; **P < 0.01; *P < 0.05).

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