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Plasma proteins facilitates placental transfer of polystyrene particles
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Researchers found that the protein coating on polystyrene nanoplastic particles changes dramatically as the particles cross the human placenta, meaning that what a nanoparticle looks like in the mother's blood does not predict how it will behave after crossing into fetal circulation. This highlights the importance of testing nanoparticles in realistic biological models that account for how barriers like the placenta transform particle surface chemistry.
In total we demonstrate the PS corona dynamically and significantly evolves upon crossing the human placenta. Thus, the initial composition of PS particles in the maternal circulation is not predictive for their transfer characteristics and performance once beyond the barrier of the placenta. The precise mechanism of these effects remains to be elucidated but highlights the importance of using well designed biological models when testing nanoparticles for biomedical applications.
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