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Aging Processes Dramatically Alter the Protein Corona Constitution, Cellular Internalization, and Cytotoxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics

Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2022 45 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Jing Wen, Jing Wen, Xiangyu Zhu, Yang Song Jing Wen, Hang Sun, Hang Sun, Yang Song Xiangyu Zhu, Hang Sun, Erqun Song, Zixuan Liu, Xiangyu Zhu, Erqun Song, Erqun Song, Yang Song Erqun Song, Zongming Qin, Yang Song Yang Song Yang Song Jing Wen, Erqun Song, Zongming Qin, Erqun Song, Yang Song Yang Song Yang Song Yang Song Yang Song Yang Song Yang Song Yang Song Yang Song

Summary

Researchers found that aging processes such as UV and ozone exposure dramatically alter how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with blood plasma proteins, form protein coronas, and enter cells. The study suggests that environmentally aged nanoplastics may have different biological effects than pristine particles, which has important implications for accurately assessing the health risks of real-world nanoplastic exposure.

Polymers

Humans are exposed to nanoplastics (NPs) through different routes, which raises critical concerns of related health effects. Due to their small sizes, NPs are accessible to the bloodstream and prone to interact with plasma proteins. NPs are susceptible to different aging processes before entering the human body, and it is plausible to evaluate the effect of aging on the physicochemical and biological properties of NPs. Here, we found that ultraviolet (UV) and ozone (O3) aging treatments caused the oxidation of polystyrene NPs, resulting in their differential adsorption characteristics toward plasma proteins. More importantly, UV and O3 aging led to reduced cellular internalization of NPs and herein relieved their cytotoxic effect. Together, our current finding further enriches the understanding of NPs’ toxicity in a realistic scenario.

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