Fig. 3
From: Coronas of micro/nano plastics: a key determinant in their risk assessments
Eco-coronas (top) and bio-coronas (bottom) on M/NP. The natural components in the environment can be adsorbed on the surface of M/NP and form eco-coronas, which consist of metal ions (Cu2+, Mg2+, Pd2+, etc.), inorganic salts (Na+, Cl−, etc.), natural organic matters (HAs, FAs, etc.), and persistent organic pollutants (PCBs, PAHs, etc.). When this M/NP encounters biological systems, it may interact with abundant biomolecules, including proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids to replace some of the constituents in eco-coronas and form bio-coronas on surface. The corona structures offer new environmental or biological identities for M/NP and impact its distribution, migration, degradation, interaction targets, cellular internalization and toxicity in organisms. Adapted and reprinted with permission from [120].