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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to A Five-Stage Model of Nanoplastic Interaction with Biological Membranes
ClearA 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.
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.
Predicting bio-corona-induced adsorption and uptake of nanoplastics
A mathematical model predicts that when nanoplastics travel through biological fluids, they acquire a coating of proteins and other biomolecules (a 'bio-corona') that can redistribute as the particle approaches a cell membrane, generating an attractive force that enables the nanoplastic to bind to and potentially enter the cell. This theoretical finding provides a mechanistic explanation for how nanoplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations could penetrate biological barriers and accumulate inside cells — a key step toward understanding human health risks.
Nanoplastics as a return to the prebiotic dimensional regime: A dimensional perspective on interactions with biological membranes
This paper offers a dimensional perspective on nanoplastic-membrane interactions, arguing that nanoplastics occupy the same size range as early prebiotic structures and can physically integrate with or disrupt lipid bilayers. The framework suggests that physical membrane perturbation — independent of chemical toxicity — is central to nanoplastic health risks.
Distinguishing the nanoplastic–cell membrane interface by polymer type and aging properties: translocation, transformation and perturbation
Molecular simulations revealed that nanoplastic behavior at cell membranes differs significantly by polymer type and aging state, with distinct patterns of membrane translocation, transformation, and disruption. Aged nanoplastics showed altered interaction dynamics compared to pristine particles, suggesting weathering changes ecotoxicological risk.
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.
Nanoparticle-cell Membrane Interactions: Adsorption Kinetics and the Monolayer Response
This thesis investigated how engineered nanoparticles interact with cell membranes, including adsorption kinetics and how membranes respond to particle contact. Understanding nanoparticle-membrane interactions is directly relevant to how nanoplastics may enter cells and cause biological harm.
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.
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.
Nanoplastics as a return to the prebiotic dimensional regime: A dimensional perspective on interactions with biological membranes
This conceptual paper argues that nanoplastics are environmentally significant not primarily because of chemical toxicity, but because their nanoscale dimensions place them in the same physical regime as prebiotic structures that interact directly with biological membranes. The author proposes that membrane disruption, rather than chemical toxicity, is the key mechanism of nanoplastic harm.
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.
Membrane Biology of Non-Degradable Stress (MBNDS)
This study introduces Membrane Biology of Non-Degradable Stress (MBNDS), an interdisciplinary framework examining how biological membranes respond to entities like nanoplastics that cannot be enzymatically degraded or metabolically processed. The framework identifies the membrane interface as the primary site of conflict and proposes adaptive membrane dynamics as a key axis of cellular stress response.
Membrane Biology of Non-Degradable Stress (MBNDS)
This study introduces Membrane Biology of Non-Degradable Stress (MBNDS), an interdisciplinary framework examining how biological membranes respond to entities like nanoplastics that cannot be enzymatically degraded or metabolically processed. The framework identifies the membrane interface as the primary site of conflict and proposes adaptive membrane dynamics as a key axis of cellular stress response.
Effects of Nanoplastics on Lipid Membranes and Vice Versa: Insights from All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Researchers used molecular dynamics simulations to study how polyethylene nanoplastics interact with cell membrane models. They found that the mechanical properties of the lipid membrane, rather than the nanoplastic structure, primarily determine whether particles can penetrate cells. The study suggests that more flexible biological membranes may be more susceptible to nanoplastic penetration, providing insight into how these particles could enter living cells.
Nanoplastic Shape Effects on Lipid Bilayer Permeabilization
Researchers investigated how nanoplastic shape and lipid bilayer composition jointly influence particle-membrane interactions, finding that environmentally realistic irregular nanoplastic morphologies disrupt lipid membranes differently than the pristine polystyrene nanospheres used in most prior studies.
Probing Wrapping Dynamics of Spherical Nanoparticles by 3D Vesicles Using Force-based Simulations
This modeling study developed a computational framework to simulate how nanoparticles interact with and wrap around cell membrane vesicles — a key process in how nanoplastics enter and damage cells. Understanding the mechanics of nanoparticle-membrane interactions is critical for predicting the biological fate of nanoplastics in living organisms.
Effects of Shape on Interaction Dynamics of Tetrahedral Nanoplastics and the Cell Membrane
Researchers used computer simulations to model how tetrahedral-shaped nanoplastics, which resemble environmentally released plastic fragments, interact with cell membranes. The study found that these sharp-edged particles were readily taken up by lipid membranes, with their movement becoming increasingly constrained as particle size grew, providing fundamental insights into how plastic particle shape affects cellular uptake.
Polystyrene and polyethylene perturb the structure of membrane: An experimental and computational study
Researchers combined cell experiments, molecular dynamics simulations, and toxicogenomic analysis to show that polystyrene and polyethylene nanoplastics — individually and as a mixture — physically penetrate cell membranes and form pores, with the mixture producing stronger disruption than either polymer alone.
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.
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 examined how nanoplastic particle shape and lipid composition together determine the degree of membrane disruption, finding that irregular environmentally weathered nanoplastic shapes — unlike pristine spherical nanoparticles — produce distinct permeabilisation effects on lipid bilayers.
Nanoplastic–Biomolecular Interactions
This review examines how nanoplastics interact with the biomolecules of living organisms — including proteins, DNA, lipids, and cellular membranes — and how these interactions drive biological harm at the molecular level. Understanding nanoplastic-biomolecule interactions is foundational to explaining why plastic particles at the nanoscale may pose greater health risks than larger microplastics, since they can penetrate cell membranes and reach intracellular targets.
Introduction: How to Begin Studying Membranes and Their Reactions to Inert Particles
This introductory text describes a structured approach to studying biological membrane responses to inert particles such as microplastics, dust, and metal nanoparticles. The framework emphasizes physical perturbation of membrane tension and lipid organization as the fundamental mechanism of particle-induced cellular harm.
Membrane fusion as a team effort
This paper discusses nanoplastics as an emerging environmental concern with key knowledge gaps, noting that nanoplastics are believed to be more toxic than larger microplastics because of their ability to penetrate biological barriers. Better analytical methods are needed to understand the true scale of nanoplastic contamination and its health implications.