It’s not just the environment that suffers. A study conducted by Umeå University in Sweden showed that nanoplastics entering the body can also harm the effect of antibiotic treatment.
Even the air in our homes contains nanoplasticscoming from polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and nylon, easily found in packaging and textiles. Given this evidence, the results of this study are particularly problematic, as these small particles can lead to the development of antibiotic resistance.
“The results are alarmingconsidering how common nanoplastics are and taking into account that effective antibiotics can be the difference between life and death”, highlighted Lukas Kenner, professor at the Department of Molecular Biology, cited by .
Nanoplastics are plastic particles smaller than a thousandth of a millimeter that, due to their tiny size, can float freely in the air, easily entering our bodies.
In this study, scientists analyzed how the most common nanoplastics interact with the tetracycline antibiotic and concluded that there is a significant accumulation of antibiotics on the surfaces of nanoplastic particles.
This means that antibiotics can catch a “hitchhike” of the nanoplastic into the bloodstream and be transported to other places in the body, reducing the targeted effect of the drug and the risk of allowing antibiotic-resistant bacteria to emerge.
Furthermore, when antibiotics accumulate in unintended areas, sublethal doses can stimulate bacterial mutations, selecting antibiotic resistant strains.
Researchers used advanced computer models to analyze how nanoplastics bind to tetracycline and found that the bond is particularly strong in nylonone of the most abundant substances in indoor air.
“More research is needed to clarify the links and possible measures, but we can conclude that nanoplastics are a health risk that should be taken very seriously”, concluded Lukas Kenner.
The findings were published in Scientific Reports.
