Soil Metabolome Impacts the Formation of the Eco-corona and Adsorption Processes on Microplastic Surfaces

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 57; no. 21; pp. 8139 - 8148
• Main Authors: Yao, Shi, Li, Xiaona, Wang, Tao, Jiang, Xin, Song, Yang, Arp, Hans Peter H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 30.05.2023
• Subjects: Adsorption; Chemical contaminants; chemical pollutants; Chemical pollution; Contaminants; environmental exposure; Lipids; Macromolecules; Metabolites; Metabolome; Microplastics; Nucleoside analogs; nucleosides; Nucleotide analogs; Nucleotides; Occurrence, Fate, and Transport of Aquatic and Terrestrial Contaminants; Organic contaminants; Phenylpropanoids; Plastic debris; Plastic pollution; Plastics; polyethylene; Polyketides; risk; Risk assessment; Soil; Soil contamination; Soil water; Soils; Solubilization; Surface chemistry; technology; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; metabolite; eco-corona; phthalate; sorption; polyethylene
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01877

The eco-corona on microplastics refers to the initial layer of biomolecular compounds adsorbed onto the surface after environmental exposure. The formation and composition of the eco-corona in soils have attracted relatively little attention; however, the eco-corona has important implications for the fate and impacts of microplastics and co-occurring chemical contaminants. Here, it was demonstrated that the formation of the eco-corona on polyethylene microplastics exposed to water-extractable soil metabolites (WESMs) occurs quite rapidly via two pathways: direct adsorption of metabolites on microplastics and bridging interactions mediated by macromolecules. The main eco-corona components were common across all soils and microplastics tested and were identified as lipids and lipid-like molecules, phenylpropanoids and polyketides, nucleosides, nucleotides, and their analogues. WESMs were found to reduce the adsorption of co-occurring organic contaminants to microplastics by two pathways: reduced adsorption to the eco-corona surface and co-solubilization in the surrounding water. These impacts from the eco-corona and the soil metabolome should be considered within fate and risk assessments of microplastics and co-occurring contaminants.