By Miguel Rubio
Why are microplastics becoming common in today's world? The answer is that humans discard a lot of plastic. With time, plastic breaks into smaller pieces, eventually becoming microplastics. There has been discussion of the potential harm of microplastics. However, Boston University performed research that poses a new question: can microplastics be beneficial to some organisms? Based on an experiment conducted by the university, they found that exposing Escherichia coli to microplastics (polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene) of various sizes and concentrations led biofilm-attached cells to become more antibiotic resistant than those grown on control surfaces such as glass. Microplastics were effective at proliferation and resistance, likely due to their characteristics which include their hydrophobic nature, adsorptive surfaces, and surface chemistry. The bacteria that grew as biofilms on plastic surfaces became resistant to multiple antibiotics, even when no microplastics were present during growth. The effect depended on the plastic’s properties and size, with polystyrene spheres and higher particle numbers generally increasing resistance. The researchers suggested that plastics provide protected surfaces, promoted increased biofilm sizes, and alter how antibiotics make contact with cells. This study has implications for treatment in healthcare as the interactions between the antibiotic resistant bacteria and microplastics can be used to develop effective strategies to address the challenges posed by MPs increasing antibiotic resistance.
Figure 2. Displaying increase in resistance to antibiotics (ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, and streptomycin) in media containing microplastics (MPs).
References:
Gross N, Muhvich J, Ching C, Gomez B, Horvath E, Nahum Y, Zaman MH. 2025. Effects of microplastic concentration, composition, and size on Escherichia coli biofilm-associated antimicrobial resistance. Appl Environ Microbiol. 91(4):e02282-24. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.02282-24
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