Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Monitoring of the Accumulation of Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoplastics
2024
Narmin Bashirova | Erik Butenschön | David Poppitz | Henrik Gaß | Marcus Halik | Doreen Dentel | Christoph Tegenkamp | Joerg Matysik | A. Alia
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most produced plastic materials in the world. The emergence of microplastics and nanoplastics (MPs/NPs) as a significant environmental contaminant has become a matter of increasing concern. While the toxicological effects of PET NPs have been widely researched, there is a lack of methodologies for studying their accumulation. The present study introduces a novel method to monitor the distribution of PET NPs in germinating wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seeds. This involves the functionalization of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) with PET NPs (PET&ndash:fSPIONs) coupled with magnetic resonance microimaging (µ:MRI) to provide insight into their distribution within the seed. The present study has demonstrated that PET&ndash:fSPIONs accumulate in specific regions of germinating wheat seeds, including the shoot apical meristem, the radicle, the coleoptile, the plumule, and the scutellum. Furthermore, the accumulation of PET&ndash:fSPIONs has been shown to exert a discernible effect on spin&ndash:spin relaxation (T2), as observed via MRI and quantitative T2 relaxation time analysis. The accumulation of PET NPs in embryo regions was also confirmed by SEM. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and non-invasive chemical shift imaging analyses demonstrated that PET NPs resulted in restricted diffusion within the highlighted areas, as well as an impact on lipid content. Our study reveals that using µ:MRI with fSPIONs provides a non-invasive method to monitor the biodistribution of PET nanoparticles in wheat seeds. Additionally, it offers valuable insights into the microstructural interactions of PET.
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