Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The Composition of the Eco-corona Acquired by Micro- and Nanoscale Plastics Impacts on their Ecotoxicity and Interactions with Co-pollutants

This review examines how the 'eco-corona' — a layer of environmental biomolecules adsorbing onto plastic particle surfaces — alters the toxicity, transport, and interaction with co-pollutants of micro- and nanoplastics, emphasizing that this biological coating fundamentally changes how plastics behave in living organisms.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics and Protein Corona - Investigating the Corona Structure and their Biological Impacts

This PhD thesis investigated how proteins from biological fluids coat the surface of nanoplastics, forming a 'protein corona' that changes how nanoplastics interact with cells and tissues. The protein corona is important because it alters the biological behavior of nanoplastics once they enter the body, potentially affecting how harmful they are.

2021 ResearchSPAce (Bath Spa University)
Article Tier 2

A Five-Stage Model of Nanoplastic Interaction with Biological Membranes

Researchers developed a five-stage conceptual model describing how nanoplastics interact with biological membranes, from initial surface corona acquisition through physical approach, adsorption, hydrophobic core penetration, and structural deformation. The model connects nanoplastic behavior to membrane stability outcomes — including stabilization, defect formation, or collapse — and links prebiotic vesicle behavior to modern cellular stress responses.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

A Five-Stage Model of Nanoplastic Interaction with Biological Membranes

Researchers developed a five-stage conceptual model describing how nanoplastics interact with biological membranes, from initial surface corona acquisition through physical approach, adsorption, hydrophobic core penetration, and structural deformation. The model connects nanoplastic behavior to membrane stability outcomes — including stabilization, defect formation, or collapse — and links prebiotic vesicle behavior to modern cellular stress responses.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Assessment on interactive prospectives of nanoplastics with plasma proteins and the toxicological impacts of virgin, coronated and environmentally released-nanoplastics

Researchers found that nanoplastics quickly coat themselves in blood proteins, forming a multi-layered "corona" that changes the proteins' shape and makes them biologically harmful; these protein-coated nanoplastics caused more DNA and cell damage in human blood cells than bare nanoplastics. The study highlights the need to regulate nanoplastics in medical products and better understand how they accumulate in the body.

2019 Scientific Reports 289 citations
Article Tier 2

Cellular internalization pathways of environmentally exposed microplastic particles: Phagocytosis or Macropinocytosis?

Researchers investigated how eco-corona formation on environmentally exposed microplastic particles affects their cellular internalization pathways, examining whether particles coated with biomolecules from freshwater or saltwater are taken up by cells via phagocytosis or macropinocytosis, with findings showing that protein ligands in the eco-corona influence cell membrane receptor interactions and thus uptake mechanisms.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Molecular insights into nanoplastics-peptides binding and their interactions with the lipid membrane

Using computer simulations, researchers studied how nanoplastics interact with small protein fragments and cell membranes at the molecular level. They found that nanoplastics readily bind to proteins, forming a coating called a protein corona, which changes how the plastics behave when they encounter cell membranes. This research helps explain how nanoplastics might enter human cells, since the protein coating could either help or hinder the particles from crossing biological barriers.

2024 Biophysical Chemistry 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological significance of bio-corona formation on micro/nanoplastics in aquatic organisms

This review examined the ecotoxicological significance of bio-corona formation on micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic organisms, exploring how protein and biomolecule coatings alter the bioavailability, toxicity, and environmental fate of plastic particles.

2023 RSC Advances 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Coronas of micro/nano plastics: a key determinant in their risk assessments

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics develop surface coatings called coronas when they interact with biological and environmental substances. These corona layers, formed from proteins, organic matter, and other materials, can significantly change how plastic particles behave in the body and environment, affecting their uptake, distribution, and toxicity. The study suggests that understanding these surface coatings is essential for accurately assessing the real-world risks of plastic particle exposure.

2022 Particle and Fibre Toxicology 143 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of Micro- and Nanoplastics with Biomolecules: From Public Health to Protein Corona Effect and Beyond

This review summarizes how micro- and nanoplastics interact with biological molecules in the body, including cell membranes and proteins. These particles can cause membranes to thicken and form pores, and they attract a coating of proteins (called a protein corona) that changes how the body responds to them, potentially increasing inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of hormone systems.

2025 The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Lipid Corona Formation on Micro- and Nanoplastic Particles Modulates Uptake and Toxicity in A549 Cells

Researchers found that lipid corona formation on micro- and nanoplastic particles significantly modulates their cellular uptake and toxicity in human lung cells, suggesting that biological coatings alter how plastic particles interact with human tissues.

2023 Materials 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Biotransformation of nanoplastics in human plasma and their permeation through a model in vitro blood-brain barrier: An in-depth quantitative analysis

Researchers tracked how nanoplastics behave in human blood plasma and found they rapidly accumulate a coating of proteins and lipids (called a "biocorona"), which affects how they cross the blood-brain barrier — a protective membrane shielding the brain. PVC nanoplastics crossed the barrier more readily than polystyrene ones, and the protein coating actually reduced — but did not eliminate — their penetration into brain tissue.

2024 Nano Today 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Repulsive interactions of eco-corona covered microplastic particles quantitatively follow modelling of polymer brushes

Researchers studied how the 'eco-corona' — a layer of natural organic molecules that coats microplastics in the environment — affects how plastic particles interact with each other and with surfaces. The eco-corona increased repulsion between particles, following patterns predicted by polymer brush physics models. Understanding the eco-corona is important for predicting how microplastics behave and accumulate in real-world environments.

2021 arXiv (Cornell University) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics in zebrafish liver cells: Influence of protein corona on transport, oxidative stress, and glycolipid metabolism

Scientists studied how proteins in biological fluids coat nanoplastic particles (forming a "protein corona") and how this coating changes the way cells take up and process the plastics. The protein coating actually increased how many nanoplastics entered liver cells and made them harder to clear out, suggesting that once nanoplastics enter the bloodstream, the body's own proteins may make the contamination harder to eliminate.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Unravelling protein corona formation on pristine and leached microplastics

Researchers found that when microplastics encounter proteins in biological fluids, they get coated in a "protein corona" that depends heavily on the plastic's chemical additives, surface area, and how much it has been weathered in the environment. This coating changes how microplastics behave in the body, meaning toxicity studies need to account for these real-world surface changes.

2024 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Unravelling protein corona formation on pristine and leached microplastics

When microplastics enter biological fluids or protein-rich environments, proteins coat their surface to form a 'protein corona' that changes how the particles behave in living systems. This study explored how the physical and chemical properties of pristine versus weathered microplastics influence corona formation, finding that surface changes caused by environmental aging significantly alter protein binding. Understanding this process matters because the protein coat — not the plastic itself — is often what cells and organisms first encounter.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Cellular interactions with polystyrene nanoplastics—The role of particle size and protein corona

Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with mammalian cells, finding that particle size and the protein corona that forms around particles in biological fluids strongly influence cellular uptake and toxicity. Smaller nanoplastics penetrated cell membranes more readily and caused greater disruption, suggesting that the tiniest plastic particles may pose the greatest biological risk.

2021 Biointerphases 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular modeling of the carbohydrate corona formation on a polyvinyl chloride nanoparticle and its impact on the adhesion to lipid bilayers

Using molecular dynamics simulations, researchers modeled how chitosan — a carbohydrate found in biological environments — coats polyvinyl chloride (PVC) nanoparticles to form an 'eco-corona,' and found this coating changes how the nanoparticles interact with and penetrate cell membranes. Understanding how environmental coatings alter nanoplastic behavior is essential for predicting the true biological toxicity of plastic particles in living organisms.

2024 The Journal of Chemical Physics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Uptake of extracellular vesicles into immune cells is enhanced by the protein corona

This study found that a protein coating (called a "corona") that forms around nanoparticles in blood actually increases their uptake by human immune cells called monocytes. While this research focused on extracellular vesicles and liposomes rather than plastic particles, the finding is relevant to microplastics research because similar protein coronas form on plastic nanoparticles in the body, potentially influencing how immune cells interact with them.

2023 Journal of Extracellular Vesicles 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Cellular internalization pathways of environmentally exposed microplastic particles: Phagocytosis or Macropinocytosis?

Researchers investigated the cellular internalization pathways -- phagocytosis versus macropinocytosis -- by which environmentally exposed microplastic particles enter cells, examining how the eco-corona of biomolecules that forms on particle surfaces in freshwater and saltwater affects cell uptake mechanisms.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Peptide CoronaFormation on Polyethylene Surfaces:A Combined Computational and Experimental Study

Researchers used molecular modeling and experiments to investigate how peptides form eco-corona layers on polyethylene microplastic surfaces, finding that peptide adsorption is governed by amino acid hydrophobicity and surface chemistry. The study provides molecular-level insight into how plastics integrate into biological environments by binding proteins and peptides.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Interaction of nanoplastics with extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in the aquatic environment: A special reference to eco-corona formation and associated impacts

This review examines how nanoplastics in aquatic environments interact with natural biomolecules to form an eco-corona coating that fundamentally changes their behavior and ecological impact. Researchers found that this biological coating alters the surface chemistry, transport, and toxicity of nanoplastic particles in ways that depend on environmental conditions. The study highlights that understanding eco-corona formation is essential for accurately assessing the real-world risks of nanoplastic pollution.

2021 Water Research 204 citations
Article Tier 2

Protein corona alleviates adverse biological effects of nanoplastics in breast cancer cells

Scientists discovered that when nanoplastics enter human blood, proteins naturally coat their surface forming a "protein corona," and this coating actually reduces some of the harmful effects of the plastics on breast cancer cells. Without the protein coating, nanoplastics stuck to cell membranes and disrupted important signaling pathways, but coated particles were safely captured inside cellular compartments. This finding suggests that the body may have some natural defense against nanoplastics in the bloodstream, though the long-term effects of this process remain unknown.

2024 Nanoscale 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Eco-corona formation and associated ecotoxicological impacts of nanoplastics in the environment

This review examines how nanoplastics interact with natural organic matter in the environment to form an 'eco-corona,' a coating of biomolecules on the particle surface that changes their behavior and toxicity. Researchers found that eco-corona formation alters nanoplastic stability, transport, and biological interactions in ways that can either increase or decrease their harmful effects on organisms. The study highlights the importance of considering these surface transformations when assessing the real-world environmental risks of nanoplastic pollution.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 75 citations