Major
Chemistry
Anticipated Graduation Year
2023
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Plastic debris is widespread in aquatic environments. The goal of this study is to determine how the structural differences of the polymers in plastic will affect the transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) absorbed on the surface to zebrafish. We have exposed zebrafish to three types of plastic (polyethylene, polymethylmethacrylate, and polycellulose) to determine how the chemical structure of the plastic affects the uptake of PCBs by the fish. Fluorescence analysis shows that the fish do not retain a significant amount of plastic beads. We are analyzing zebrafish tissue to determine which plastic better transfers PCBs to the fish.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. M. Paul Chiarelli, Ph.D, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Emily Radz, graduate student, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Dr. Rodney M. Dale, Ph.D, Department of Biology
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Enhancement of PCB uptake in Zebrafish by Different Microplastics
Plastic debris is widespread in aquatic environments. The goal of this study is to determine how the structural differences of the polymers in plastic will affect the transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) absorbed on the surface to zebrafish. We have exposed zebrafish to three types of plastic (polyethylene, polymethylmethacrylate, and polycellulose) to determine how the chemical structure of the plastic affects the uptake of PCBs by the fish. Fluorescence analysis shows that the fish do not retain a significant amount of plastic beads. We are analyzing zebrafish tissue to determine which plastic better transfers PCBs to the fish.