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The Importance of Biofilms to the Fate and Effects of Microplastics
Citation:
Glaser, John A. The Importance of Biofilms to the Fate and Effects of Microplastics. Chapter 18, Bacterial Biofilms. IntechOpen, London, Uk, , 303-309, (2020). https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92816
Impact/Purpose:
Microplastics are strewn throughout our environment. Contaminated landscapes, and fresh and marine aquatic ecologies are polluted wit this unwanted waste material. A major question looming for inquiring minds is the relative importance of microplastic materials to human health and the environment. There is a significant biological component attached to most microplastics in the form of microbial biofilms. The biofilm association can account for some of the behavior of the microplastic assemblages found in the environment. Established biofilms on microplastics can attract both organic and inorganic pollutant chemicals in a sorbed state.as well as pathogenic microbes. Research has been conducted which strongly suggested that the pathogenic microbial component has no adverse effect on human health but the importance of this consideration requires that we continue to query this aspect for more conclusive evidence. The closer appraisal of the importance of biofilms to microplastic behavior in the environment is pivotal to the understanding of the environmental fate and effects of microplastics in aquatic systems.
Description:
Microplastics are global pollutants in water media ranging from drinking water to freshwater streams to oceanic pollutant gyres. Besides the obvious appearance involving a scattered presence in the environmental landscape, microplastics are ubiquitous across modern society in products, food, and beginning to have strong economic effects too. Ingestion of microplastics is virtually unavoidable for each of us as we consume food, breathe air, or drink liquids. For example, beer has been found to be contaminated with plastic materials having the dimensions of microand nanoparticles. In the environment, the formation of biofilms on microplastics is widely observed and this can significantly alter properties important to environmental and human health. Significant research has been conducted on the role of biofilms in the fate and effect of microplastics on environmental and human health, with a general message to avoid contact with microplastics in the environment until more complete strategies for cleanup are developed.
