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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to UVB-Aged Microplastics and Cellular Damage: An in Vitro Study
ClearUVB-aged microplastics and cellular damage : An in vitro study
Researchers conducted in vitro experiments to assess whether UVB-aged microplastics cause greater cellular damage than unaged plastics, given that UV irradiation fragments and chemically alters plastic surfaces. The study found that UVB aging enhanced the capacity of microplastics to cause cellular toxicity.
Polyethylene, whose surface has been modified by UV irradiation, induces cytotoxicity: A comparison with microplastics found in beaches
Researchers showed that polyethylene microplastics degraded by UV light, mimicking what happens to plastics in the environment, were toxic to immune and skin cells in lab tests. Fresh, undegraded plastic particles did not cause the same harm, meaning weathered microplastics found in nature are likely more dangerous than the pristine plastics typically used in lab studies. This suggests that real-world human exposure to environmentally aged microplastics may carry greater health risks than current research indicates.
New insights into the size-independent bioactive potential of pristine and UV-B aged polyethylene microplastics
Scientists tested how UV light aging changes polyethylene microplastics and their effects on human immune cells (lymphocytes) from blood samples. Both new and UV-aged microplastics reduced cell viability and triggered DNA damage, regardless of particle size. This suggests that microplastics in the environment may harm human immune cells whether they are freshly produced or have been weathered by sunlight.
Unraveling the impacts of photolysis-induced aging microplastics on enhanced immunotoxicity and nephrotoxicity
Researchers compared the toxicity of pristine and sun-aged polyethylene and PET microplastics on kidney cells and immune cells and found that aged particles were up to 40 percent more toxic. The increased harm was attributed to environmentally persistent free radicals that form on plastic surfaces during UV exposure, which amplify oxidative stress inside cells. The study highlights that weathered microplastics in the real environment may pose greater health risks than the pristine particles typically used in laboratory studies.
Treatment of polyethylene microplastics degraded by ultraviolet light irradiation causes lysosome-deregulated cell death
Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics degraded by ultraviolet light were more toxic to cells than pristine microplastics, triggering a type of cell death linked to lysosome dysfunction. UV exposure changed the surface chemistry of the particles, making them more reactive and harmful to cellular structures. The study highlights that weathered microplastics in the environment may pose greater health risks than newly produced plastic particles.
New Insights into the Mechanisms of Toxicity of Aging Microplastics
This study showed that UV-aged polypropylene microplastics are significantly more toxic than fresh ones, absorbing more chemicals and generating more harmful reactive oxygen species in seawater. The aged particles caused greater damage to cell membranes in mussels compared to pristine plastics. Since most microplastics in the ocean have been weathered by sunlight, real-world exposure risks may be higher than laboratory studies using new plastics suggest.
Photoaging of polystyrene microspheres causes oxidative alterations to surface physicochemistry and enhances airway epithelial toxicity
Researchers aged polystyrene microplastics with UV light and then tested their effects on human lung cells. They found that UV-weathered particles caused more pronounced biological responses than fresh ones, including cell cycle disruption, altered cell shape, and impaired wound healing. The study suggests that environmental aging of airborne microplastics may increase their potential to harm respiratory tissues.
Enhancement of biological effects of oxidised nano- and microplastics in human professional phagocytes
Researchers studied how virgin and environmentally aged polystyrene nano- and microplastics affect human immune cells (monocytes and macrophages). The study found that oxidized particles, which simulate environmental aging, caused significantly greater DNA damage and oxidative stress than virgin particles, suggesting that weathered plastics in the environment may pose higher health risks.
Developing environmentally relevant test materials for microplastic research through UV-induced photoaging
Researchers used UV irradiation to create photoaged microplastics from multiple polymer types as environmentally relevant test materials for ecotoxicology research, characterizing how aging changes surface chemistry, particle size distribution, and potential biological effects.
Photo-transformation of microplastics and its toxicity to Caco-2 cells
Researchers studied how ultraviolet light transforms polystyrene microplastics and how these changes affect toxicity to human intestinal cells. They found that UV exposure roughened the particle surfaces and introduced oxygen-containing functional groups, and that these photo-transformed microplastics were significantly more toxic to Caco-2 cells than pristine particles. The study suggests that environmentally weathered microplastics may pose greater risks to the human digestive system than freshly produced ones.
Photoaging of polystyrene-based microplastics amplifies inflammatory response in macrophages
Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics aged by sunlight exposure for just three hours triggered stronger inflammatory responses and DNA damage in immune cells than fresh microplastics, even at very low concentrations. The aging process changed the particles' surface properties, making them more biologically reactive. Since most microplastics in the real world have been weathered by sunlight, this study suggests their actual health impact may be greater than lab studies using pristine particles indicate.
Impact of Degradation of Polyethylene Particles on Their Cytotoxicity
Researchers found that degradation of polyethylene particles altered their cytotoxicity, with weathered and fragmented PE showing different toxic effects on cells compared to pristine particles, suggesting environmental aging changes microplastic health risks.
Contaminant release from aged microplastic
Researchers exposed recycled plastic granules of polyethylene, PVC, and polystyrene to simulated aging conditions including UV radiation and high temperatures. They found that aging significantly increased the rate at which chemical additives leached from the plastic particles into water, with UV exposure having the greatest effect. The study highlights that weathered microplastics in the environment may release harmful chemicals at much higher rates than fresh plastic materials.
A preliminary study about the potential risks of the UV-weathered microplastic: The proteome-level changes in the brain in response to polystyrene derived weathered microplastics
Researchers found that UV-weathered microplastics, which more closely resemble real-world plastic pollution, caused greater changes to brain proteins in mice than pristine microplastics. The weathered particles triggered alterations in proteins related to nerve signaling and cellular stress responses. This suggests that the microplastics people actually encounter in the environment may be more neurotoxic than the pristine particles typically used in lab studies.
Pristine and artificially-aged polystyrene microplastic particles differ in regard to cellular response
Researchers compared the cellular effects of pristine laboratory polystyrene microplastics with artificially aged particles that better represent real-world environmental conditions. They found that aged microplastics triggered different immune cell responses than pristine ones, including altered inflammatory signaling and uptake patterns. The study highlights that standard laboratory testing with new plastic particles may underestimate the actual biological effects of weathered microplastics found in the environment.
Photoaging Elevated the Genotoxicity of Polystyrene Microplastics to Marine Mussel Mytilus trossulus (Gould, 1850)
Researchers found that sunlight-aged polystyrene microplastics caused more DNA damage in marine mussels than fresh, unweathered microplastics. The UV-degraded particles disrupted cell metabolism and destabilized protective cell membranes more severely. This is important because most microplastics in the ocean have been weathered by sunlight, meaning real-world exposure may be more harmful than what many lab studies using pristine plastics suggest.
Impact of virgin and weathered microplastics on zebrafish: Bioaccumulation, developmental toxicity and molecular pathway disruptions
Researchers compared the effects of brand-new versus environmentally weathered microplastics on zebrafish larvae and found that weathered particles were far more toxic, causing 80% mortality compared to 20% for new plastics. The weathered microplastics triggered more severe disruptions to oxidative stress pathways, cell death signaling, and DNA repair mechanisms. The study emphasizes that laboratory tests using only pristine microplastics may significantly underestimate the real-world dangers of plastic pollution.
Photoaged polystyrene nanoplastics induce perturbation of glucose metabolism in HepG2 cells via oxidative stress
Researchers exposed human liver cells to polystyrene nanoplastics with varying degrees of UV-induced aging and found that photoaged particles caused more severe disruptions to glucose metabolism than pristine ones. Long-term photoaged nanoplastics triggered dose-dependent metabolic disorders through oxidative stress, while pristine particles only caused effects at high concentrations. The study suggests that weathered nanoplastics in the environment may pose greater health risks than fresh plastic particles.
Type-specific inflammatory responses of vascular cells activated by interaction with virgin and aged microplastics
Researchers exposed human blood vessel wall cells to both new and sun-aged microplastics made of polystyrene and polyethylene. The aged microplastics triggered significantly more oxidative stress and inflammation, increasing levels of key inflammatory markers like IL-6 and TNF-alpha. Since most microplastics in the real world are weathered, these results suggest that actual human exposure may pose a greater risk to cardiovascular health than lab studies using fresh plastics indicate.
Ultraviolet-induced photodegradation elevated the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics on human lung epithelial A549 cells
Researchers found that UV-induced photodegradation significantly increased the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics on human lung epithelial cells. The degraded nanoplastics caused greater cell death, stronger oxidative stress, more severe membrane damage, and intensive mitochondrial dysfunction compared to non-degraded particles, suggesting that weathered nanoplastics in the environment may pose greater health risks than pristine ones.
Elucidating the effects of naturally weathered aged-polypropylene microplastics and newly procured polypropylene microplastics on raw 264.7 macrophages
Researchers compared the effects of naturally weathered polypropylene microplastics and newly manufactured ones on immune cells called macrophages. They found that both types caused cell toxicity and disrupted normal cellular function, but the weathered particles had distinct effects due to their altered surface chemistry. The study suggests that aging and environmental weathering change how microplastics interact with biological systems.
Degradation of Biodegradable Microplastics under Artificially Controlled Aging Conditions with UV Radiation
Researchers subjected biodegradable plastics to controlled UV aging and found that they fragmented into microplastics faster than conventional plastics under simulated outdoor conditions. Biodegradable plastics are promoted as an eco-friendly alternative, but this study shows they may actually create microplastic pollution more rapidly in real-world environments. The findings raise important questions about whether biodegradable plastics are a genuine solution to plastic pollution.
The generation of environmentally persistent free radicals on photoaged microbeads from cosmetics enhances the toxicity via oxidative stress
Researchers studied how sunlight aging affects microbeads from cosmetics and their potential toxicity. They found that UV exposure generates persistent free radicals on the plastic surface, which significantly increased harmful effects on the roundworm C. elegans, including reduced reproduction and elevated oxidative stress. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics from personal care products may be considerably more toxic than their freshly manufactured counterparts.
Uptake of Breathable Nano- and Micro-Sized Polystyrene Particles: Comparison of Virgin and Oxidised nPS/mPS in Human Alveolar Cells
Researchers found that environmentally aged (oxidised) nano- and microplastics were rapidly taken up by human lung cells and caused significantly greater DNA damage, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial impairment compared to pristine particles, highlighting the heightened health risks of weathered airborne plastics.