Nanoplastics in Human Bodies Can Make Antibiotics Less Effective, Study Finds [Video]

A new study has revealed that nanoplastics present in the human body can interact with pharmaceutical drugs, including antibiotics, making them less effective and even increasing the risk of antibiotic resistance.

Researchers looked at how the common antibiotic tetracycline, often used for respiratory tract, skin or intestinal bacterial infections, interacted with four types of nanoplastics in the body: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and nylon 6,6 (N66).

The team used simulations and in vitro experiments to study the interactions between the antibiotic and the different forms of nanoplastics.

They found that when the nanoplastics are present the tetracycline’s absorption changed, making it less successful as an antibiotic. In the presence of PS specifically, the antibiotic experienced a drop in biological activity. The scientists published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports.

“The binding was particularly strong with nylon,” Dr. Lukas Kenner, professor at Medical University of Vienna and co-author of the study, said in a statement…