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20 resultsShowing papers similar to Interfacial interactions between PMMA nanoplastics and a model globular protein: towards a molecular understanding of nanoplastic-driven biological dyshomeostasis
ClearMolecular 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.
Mechanistic Insights into Cellular and Molecular Basis of Protein‐Nanoplastic Interactions
This review examines how nanoplastic particles interact with proteins at the cellular and molecular level, disrupting normal protein function and triggering oxidative stress, DNA damage, and cell death. Researchers found that nanoplastics alter the structural shape of important proteins, which helps explain their toxic effects on living organisms. The study also covers how understanding these protein-plastic interactions could inform both toxicity assessment and potential enzymatic plastic degradation strategies.
Nanoplastics can change the secondary structure of proteins
Researchers found that nanoplastic particles interact directly with proteins and fundamentally alter their secondary structure, effectively denaturing them in a manner that could cause cellular and ecological damage. The study presents the first direct evidence that plastic-protein interactions represent a distinct and potentially serious biological hazard beyond the previously studied effects of microplastic ingestion.
Exploring the Interaction of Human α-Synuclein with Polyethylene Nanoplastics: Insights from Computational Modeling and Experimental Corroboration
Researchers used computer simulations and lab experiments to study how polyethylene nanoplastics interact with alpha-synuclein, a brain protein linked to neurodegenerative conditions. They found that nanoplastics caused the protein to change its shape and form a compact structure that interacts more strongly with itself, potentially promoting clumping. The study suggests a possible mechanism by which nanoplastics could influence protein behavior in the brain, though the health implications remain to be determined.
Interfacial Interactions between Nanoplastics and Biological Systems: toward an Atomic and Molecular Understanding of Plastics-Driven Biological Dyshomeostasis
This study investigated how nanoplastics interact with biological molecules at the atomic level, finding that polystyrene nanoplastics can destroy the structure of proteins, disrupt cell membranes, and damage DNA. The nanoplastics essentially unfolded a milk protein, punched holes in cell membranes, and broke DNA strands. These findings help explain at a fundamental level how nanoplastics found in human blood, milk, and tissues could cause the inflammation and disease seen in other studies.
Nanoplastics alter the conformation and activity of human serum albumin
Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with human serum albumin, a key blood protein, and found that nanoplastics bind to the protein through hydrophobic forces, altering its structure and reducing its enzymatic activity. The study suggests that nanoplastic exposure could interfere with normal protein function in the bloodstream, highlighting the need for regulation of nanoplastics in consumer products.
Polystyrene nanoplastics modulate VGLL3 phase separation by enhancing intermolecular interactions: Implications for fibrosis and beyond
Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics affect the behavior of VGLL3, a protein involved in fibrosis, by modulating its ability to form liquid-like condensates inside cells. They found that negatively charged nanoplastics selectively triggered VGLL3 to cluster together in a concentration- and size-dependent manner by stabilizing protein-to-protein contacts on the particle surface. The study provides a mechanistic basis for how aged or surface-modified microplastics could potentially influence fibrosis-related cellular processes.
Proteins in contact with macro and microplastics : fate in solution and at interfaces
This French doctoral thesis investigated how proteins interact with plastic surfaces and microplastic particles in solution and at interfaces. The research found that proteins can adsorb to plastic surfaces, potentially altering both protein function and plastic behavior. These findings have implications for understanding how microplastics interact with biological molecules in the human body and environment.
Modelling bionano interactions and potential health risks for environmental nanoplastics: the case of functionalized polystyrene
Researchers used computer simulations to model how proteins adsorb onto polystyrene nanoplastic surfaces, investigating bionano interactions relevant to potential health risks. The study focused on functionalized polystyrene as a model for environmental nanoplastics. The findings contribute to understanding how nanoplastics interact with biological molecules, which is important for evaluating their toxicological potential.
Interaction of polystyrene nanoplastics with human fibrinogen
Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface modifications disrupted the structure of human fibrinogen, a key blood clotting protein, in a dose-dependent manner. The study suggests that nanoplastics entering the bloodstream could interfere with protein function, raising concerns about the potential biological consequences of nanoplastic exposure in humans.
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.
Pollution caused by nanoplastics: adverse effects and mechanisms of interaction via molecular simulation
This review used molecular simulation techniques to examine how nanoplastics interact with biological membranes and proteins, finding that NPs alter lipid membrane organization and protein secondary structure, potentially disrupting digestion and nutrient absorption in the gastrointestinal system. The review synthesized evidence that NPs can also adsorb environmental contaminants and potentiate their toxicity through synergistic mechanisms.
Structure of soft and hard protein corona around polystyrene nanoplastics—Particle size and protein types
Researchers characterized the protein corona that forms around polystyrene nanoplastics of different sizes, finding that particle size influences which proteins bind and how tightly, with implications for nanoplastic toxicity and biological uptake.
Polystyrene nanoplastics affect the human ubiquitin structure and ubiquitination in cells: a high-resolution study
Using NMR and TEM analyses, polystyrene nanoplastics were shown to form a hard protein corona with human ubiquitin and to impair ubiquitination in HeLa cells, revealing a potential mechanism by which nanoplastic exposure disrupts protein degradation pathways in human cells.
Plastic Nanoparticles Cause Proteome Stress and Aggregation by Compromising Cellular Protein Homeostasis ex vivo and in vivo.
Researchers demonstrated for the first time that plastic nanoparticles can compromise cellular protein homeostasis ex vivo and in vivo, causing proteome stress and protein aggregation by disrupting the cellular machinery responsible for maintaining protein stability. The findings suggest that nanoplastic exposure poses risks beyond cytotoxicity, potentially triggering protein misfolding pathways relevant to neurodegenerative and other protein aggregation diseases.
Molecular modeling to elucidate the dynamic interaction process and aggregation mechanism between natural organic matters and nanoplastics
Researchers used molecular modeling to understand how nanoplastics interact with natural organic matter found in water environments. They found that the chemical properties of both the plastic surface and the organic molecules determined whether they clumped together or remained dispersed. The study provides new molecular-level insights into how nanoplastics behave and spread in natural water systems, which is important for predicting their environmental fate.
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.
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.
Evidence for protein misfolding in the presence of nanoplastics
Computer simulations suggest that nanoplastics — tiny plastic particles under 5 nanometers — can cause proteins to misfold when they bind together. Misfolded proteins are linked to diseases like Alzheimer's, making this an early warning that nanoplastics may pose risks at the molecular level in living cells.
Perturbation of Nanoplastics on Biomembranes: Molecular Insights from Neutron Scattering
Using neutron scattering, researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics — with and without surface modifications — perturb the structure and dynamics of both simple and complex bacterial-model biomembranes, suggesting nanoplastics can physically disrupt cell membrane function.