Synergistic effect of microplastic fragments and benzophenone-3 additives on lethal and sublethal Daphnia magna toxicity

The interactive effect of polyethylene microplastic (MP) fragments and benzophenone-3 (BP-3) additives on Daphnia magna was assessed in the present study. The 48 h median effective concentration (EC50) revealed that MP fragments (37.24 +/- 11.76 mu m; 3.90 mg L-1) were over 80 times more acutely toxic than polyethylene microbeads (37.05 +/- 3.96 mu m; 323 mg L-1), possibly because of their irregular shape and high specific surface area. Moreover, the addition of BP-3 (10.27 +/- 0.40 % w/w) to MP fragments (MP + BP-3) resulted in greater acute toxicity to D. magna (EC50 = 0.99 mg L-1) compared to MP fragments (EC50 = 3.90 mg L-1) or BP-3 (EC50 = 2.29 mg L-1) alone. Additionally, MP + BP-3 exposure induced a synergistic increase in reactive oxygen species, total antioxidant capacity, and lipid peroxidation in D. magna. These synergistic effects can be attributed to enhanced bioconcentrations of BP-3 in D. magna caused by MP fragments. These findings suggest that MP fragments containing chemical additives represent a synergistic ecological risk and have the potential to harm aquatic organisms.

Automated summary

The study revealed that polyethylene microplastic fragments and benzophenone-3 additives have synergistic acute toxic effects on Daphnia magna, which may pose a potential risk to aquatic organisms.