The Hazards Of Microplastics

Microplastics have small particle size and are easy to be swallowed by aquatic organisms, thus they accumulate in organisms and pass through the food chain [3].Microplastics can be attached to the surface of algae, impeding the absorption of photons and carbon dioxide, reducing the efficiency of photosynthesis, and thus inhibiting algae growth.Humans can also accumulate microplastics from ingesting water that contains them or from seafood such as fish and shellfish.Microplastics have been shown to be toxic to human cells through in vitro experiments on human brain and epithelial cells.Microplastics may also pose a threat to human health, based on their damage to other organisms.In addition, nanoplastics have recently been found to pass through the chorionic membrane of zebrafish embryos and into the developing embryo, where they are distributed throughout zebrafish tissues.The positively charged microplastics can attach to the surface of the cell membrane and enter the cell interior through endocytosis.Although the specific toxic effects of nano-microplastics are still to be further studied, they can enter directly into cells and pose a great threat to the health of organisms, which should be paid more attention to.