Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Label-Free Quantification of Nanoplastic–Cell Membrane Interaction by Single Cell Deformation Plasmonic Imaging

Researchers used single-cell atomic force microscopy to directly measure the forces with which nanoplastics interact with cell membranes in living cells, providing label-free quantification of nanoplastic binding strength and membrane disruption at the individual cell level.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Label-Free Live-Cell Imaging of Internalized Microplastics and Cytoplasmic Organelles with Multicolor CARS Microscopy

Label-free multicolor coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy was used to simultaneously visualize internalized microplastics and cellular organelles in live cells without requiring fluorescent staining. The approach enables real-time tracking of plastic particle interactions with intracellular structures, offering new insight into how microplastics behave inside human cells.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Label-free stimulated Raman scattering imaging of intracellular microplastics in mammalian cells

Researchers used label-free stimulated Raman scattering imaging to visualize microplastic uptake and distribution inside mammalian cells without fluorescent labels, finding that intracellular microplastics were associated with elevated reactive oxygen species, reduced cell viability, and altered lipid metabolism.

2025
Article Tier 2

Cell Response to Nanoplastics and Their Carrier Effects Tracked Real-Timely with Machine Learning-Driven Smart Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Slides

Researchers developed a novel smart sensor slide that can track in real time how living cells respond to nanoplastic exposure at the molecular level. Using specially designed core-shell plastic nanoparticles with embedded tracking signals, they could monitor each stage from initial cell contact through absorption and eventual cell damage. The technology offers a powerful new tool for studying how nanoplastics interact with human cells and carry other pollutants into the body.

2025 Analytical Chemistry 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics destabilize lipid membranes by mechanical stretching

Researchers discovered a physical mechanism by which microplastics can damage cell membranes through mechanical stretching, even without chemical toxicity. Using model lipid membranes, they showed that microplastic particles partially engulfed by cell membranes create mechanical tension that destabilizes the membrane structure. The study reveals a fundamental way that microplastics could harm living cells, suggesting that physical interactions at the cellular level may be just as important as chemical effects.

2021 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 161 citations
Article Tier 2

Single-nanoplastic detection based on plasmon-coupled scattering microscopy

Researchers developed plasmon-coupled scattering microscopy (PCSM) as a new method for detecting and characterising individual nanoplastic particles down to single-particle sensitivity. The technique offers higher resolution and lower cost than traditional approaches and was validated against known nanoplastic standards.

2025 Sensors and Actuators A Physical
Article Tier 2

Understanding the transformations of nanoplastic onto phospholipid bilayers: Mechanism, microscopic interaction and cytotoxicity assessment

Researchers used molecular dynamics simulations to model how five types of nanoplastics (PVC, PS, PLA, PP, PET) interact with cell membrane lipid bilayers, finding that van der Waals forces dominate uptake and that nanoplastic accumulation reduces membrane thickness in a way that correlates with cytotoxicity.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Can Nanoplastics Alter Cell Membranes?

Researchers used molecular dynamics simulations to show that polyethylene nanoplastics dissolve into the hydrophobic core of lipid bilayers as disentangled polymer chains, inducing structural and dynamic changes that alter vital cell membrane functions and may result in cell death.

2019 ChemPhysChem 137 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics on cell membranes: A combined study of experiments and molecular dynamics simulations

Researchers combined laboratory experiments with molecular dynamics simulations to study how polyethylene microplastics interact with cell membranes. They found that nanoscale plastic particles can penetrate and disrupt cell membrane structure, causing leakage and potentially leading to cell damage. The study provides a detailed molecular-level understanding of one of the fundamental ways microplastics may harm living cells.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 141 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of polyethylene nanoplastics with the plasma, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosome and endosome membranes: A molecular dynamics study

Researchers used computer simulations to study how polyethylene nanoplastics interact with five types of cell membranes in the human body, finding that the plastic particles spontaneously insert themselves into the fatty inner layer of membranes and disrupt normal membrane flexibility. These atomic-level findings help explain how nanoplastics may cause cell damage from the inside.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantitative Analysis of Nanoplastics in Single Cells by Subcellular Chromatography

This study developed a novel subcellular chromatography method capable of quantifying nanoplastic particles in different regions of individual living cells with femtolitre-to-attolitre precision. By directly sampling and separating intracellular cytoplasm, the technique revealed how nanoplastics distribute across different cellular compartments. This advance in analytical capability is important for understanding the subcellular fate of nanoplastics and the spatially specific toxicological mechanisms they may trigger inside cells.

2023 Analytical Chemistry 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation of nanoplastics in human cells as visualized and quantified by hyperspectral imaging with enhanced dark-field microscopy

Researchers developed a label-free imaging technique to visualize and count nanoplastic particles that accumulate inside human cells, using enhanced dark-field microscopy combined with hyperspectral imaging. The method successfully tracked polystyrene nanoplastics entering cells over time and measured accumulation rates without needing fluorescent labels. This tool could improve the accuracy of future studies assessing how nanoplastics build up in human tissue and what concentration levels may pose health risks.

2023 Environment International 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Perturbation of Nanoplastics on Biomembranes: Molecular Insights from Neutron Scattering

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles called nanoplastics can seriously damage cell membranes, which are the protective barriers around our cells. The plastic particles caused membranes to break apart and get thinner, though some natural cell types were more resistant to damage than others. This research helps us understand why the growing amount of plastic pollution in our environment and food could pose health risks to humans.

2026
Article Tier 2

Precise Sizing and Collision Detection of Functional Nanoparticles by Deep Learning Empowered Plasmonic Microscopy

Deep learning-empowered plasmonic microscopy (Deep-SM) enabled precise sizing and collision detection of individual nanoparticles on sensor surfaces by enhancing signal detection and suppressing noise from sequential image data, advancing single-nanoparticle analysis for biological and materials applications.

2025 Advanced Science 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic ShapeEffects on Lipid Bilayer Permeabilization

Researchers investigated how nanoplastic shape affects lipid bilayer permeabilisation, demonstrating that morphologically diverse environmental nanoplastics interact with cell membranes in ways that differ substantially from the uniform polystyrene nanospheres typically used in laboratory studies.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Raman-spektroskopische Charakterisierung von Zellen und Gewebe nach Exposition mit Nanoplastik

Researchers exposed human monocytic THP-1 cells, trophoblasts, and placenta cells to primary and secondary nanoplastic particles at 100 particles/cell in sizes of 200 nm and 60 nm, then used confocal laser scanning microscopy and Raman microspectroscopy to locate and characterize intracellular nanoplastics.

2022 LIBDOC - Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution and its pathophysiological impacts on mammalian cells

This review examines the pathophysiological impacts of microplastics and nanoplastics on mammalian cells, discussing how environmental degradation of larger plastics generates micro- and nano-scale fragments that enter organisms through ingestion, accumulate via trophic transfer, and cause cellular toxicity. The authors synthesize laboratory evidence on MP and NP interactions with mammalian cells including membrane disruption, inflammation, and genotoxicity.

2022 IARJSET
Article Tier 2

Photoinduced Force Microscopy as an Efficient Method Towards the Detection of Nanoplastics

Researchers demonstrated photoinduced force microscopy as an effective method for detecting and chemically characterizing individual nanoplastic particles, overcoming limitations of conventional techniques that lack either sufficient spatial resolution or spectroscopic capability at the nanoscale.

2021 Chemistry - Methods 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of single-cell ICP-TOFMS to measure nanoplastics association with human cells

Researchers developed a new single-cell analytical technique using ICP-TOFMS to measure how nanoplastic particles associate with individual human cells. This method enables detection of nanoplastics at the single-cell level, offering a more precise way to study how these tiny plastic particles interact with human tissues. The approach addresses a critical gap in understanding nanoplastic exposure and uptake in biological systems.

2023 Environmental Science Nano 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling Intracellular Protein Corona Components of Nanoplastics via Photocatalytic Protein Proximity Labeling

Researchers developed a photocatalytic protein proximity labeling method to identify proteins that interact with nanoplastic particles inside living cells. The study revealed the composition of the intracellular protein corona that forms around nanoplastics, providing new insights into how these tiny plastic particles interact with cellular machinery once they enter biological systems.

2024 Analytical Chemistry 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic effects of marine pollutants and microplastics on the destabilization of lipid bilayers

Researchers investigated synergistic effects of marine pollutants combined with microplastics on lipid bilayer stability using biophysical methods, finding that microplastics — which can be present in human blood and organs — destabilize lipid membranes more severely in combination with co-occurring marine pollutants than either contaminant alone.

2022
Article Tier 2

A quantitative study of nanoplastics within cells using magnetic resonance imaging

Researchers developed a magnetic resonance imaging strategy to quantify nanoplastics internalized by mouse macrophage cells, providing a novel non-invasive approach for tracking nanoplastic uptake and distribution within living organisms.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Imaging and quantifying the biological uptake and distribution of nanoplastics using a dual-functional model material

Researchers developed a dual-functional nanoplastic model material that allows both imaging and precise quantification of nanoplastic uptake in biological systems. Using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, they could track where nanoplastics accumulated in organisms at high resolution. The tool addresses a major gap in nanoplastic research by enabling more accurate measurement of how these tiny particles interact with living tissues.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Autofluorescence of Model Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoplastics for Cell Interaction Studies

Researchers produced model PET nanoplastics through mechanical fragmentation and characterized their autofluorescence properties, enabling label-free tracking of nanoplastic interactions with biological systems without the artifacts introduced by fluorescent dyes.

2022 Nanomaterials 36 citations