Authors:

Brooklyn Sims

Date Created:

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About Paper:

Microplastics (MPs) and pharmaceuticals are both anthropogenic contaminants commonly found in urban streams. Pharmaceuticals can absorb MP surfaces due to their high surface area and hydrophobicity. In urban streams, MP surfaces are also colonized by microbial biofilms, which are communities of surface-attached microorganisms that can include both bacteria and algae. Biofilms are important members of stream ecosystems that contribute to nutrient cycling and serve as a valuable food source for higher-trophic level organisms, including invertebrates and fish. Previous studies have demonstrated significant impacts of various pharmaceuticals on stream biofilms, but the potential role of MPs in facilitating interactions between pharmaceuticals and biofilms remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that pharmaceuticals would adsorb to MPs when both were present in laboratory-scale stream mesocosms, and that the adsorption of pharmaceuticals onto MPs would alter the diversity and composition of microbial biofilms. colonizing the MPs. We added polyester fibers to twelve stream mesocosms, and to a subset of streams, we added a cocktail of seven pharmaceuticals (acetaminophen, azithromycin, caffeine, ciprofloxacin, diphenhydramine, erythromycin, sulfamethoxazole) at environmentally relevant concentrations. Streams were run for 15 days, and then MP and water samples were collected. HPLC analysis confirmed the adsorption of all seven pharmaceuticals to the MPs. Bacterial and algal communities on the MPs and in the stream water were analyzed by amplicon sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. Results indicated that the addition of pharmaceuticals did not alter the diversity or composition of bacterial or algal communities on the MPs or in the stream water, which contradicted our hypothesis. This lack of effect may be attributable to the low concentration of pharmaceuticals added to the streams or the short duration of the experiment. OOOOH OOOH OHOSH OCS HOCH OCHS SH OOHOHHCOHOOSOOCOHOCSHOSCOCOESCOO DFDDHDIDHFVDHISDIDDIDSHGHGHHHOHDDOHGOOHHHHHHDSDO

Source:

Loyola University Chicago

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Co-authors:

Brooklyn Sims