Cellular Process of Polystyrene Nanoparticles Entry into Wheat Roots

Nanoscale plastic particles are widely found in the terrestrial environment and being increasingly studied in recent years. However, the knowledgeof their translocation and accumulation mechanism controlled by nanoplasticcharacterizations in plant tissues is limited, especially in plant cells. Here, 20 mgL-1polystyrene nanoparticles (PS NPs) with different sizes and amino/carboxygroups were employed to investigate the internalization process in wheat roots andcells. From the results, we found that the uptake of small-size PS NPs in the roottissues was increased compared to that of large-size ones, but no PS NPs wereobserved in the vascular cylinder. Similar results were observed in their cellular uptakeprocess. Besides, the cell wall could block the entry of large-size PS NPs while the cellmembrane could not. The-NH2group on the PS NPs surface could benefit theirtissular/cellular translocation compared to the-COOH group. The internalization ofPS NPs was controlled by both particle size and surface functional group, and the sizeshould be the primary factor. Ourfindings offer important information for understanding the PS NPs behaviors in plant tissues,especially at the cellular level, and assessing their potential risk to food safety, quality, and agricultural sustainability

Automated summary

In this study, polystyrene nanoparticles with different sizes and functional groups were used to investigate their internalization process in wheat roots and cells. The results showed that the size and surface functional group of the nanoparticles play important roles in their internalization, with size being the primary factor. These findings provide important information for understanding the behavior of nanoparticles in plant tissues and assessing their potential risks to food safety and agricultural sustainability.