Papers

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Article Tier 2

Effects of Atmospheric Aging on the Respiratory Toxicityof Polystyrene Nanoplastic Particles

Researchers exposed human bronchial epithelial cells to atmospherically aged polystyrene nanoplastics at an air-liquid interface, finding significantly elevated expression of inflammatory genes IL-8, TNF-α, and IL-6 compared to fresh nanoplastics, demonstrating that environmental aging increases respiratory toxicity.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Preprints.org 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Unmodified Polystyrene Nanoparticles Induce Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Responses in Human Lung Epithelial Cells

Exposure of human lung epithelial cells to unmodified polystyrene nanoparticles (60 nm) at concentrations as low as 50 µg/mL reduced cell viability by about 50% and triggered expression of inflammatory genes including IL-6 and CXCL10. These results suggest that nanoplastic particles reaching the respiratory tract could provoke lung inflammation, raising concerns about the health consequences of inhaling airborne nanoplastics.

2023 International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research
Article Tier 2

Uptake of Breathable Nano- and Micro-Sized Polystyrene Particles: Comparison of Virgin and Oxidised nPS/mPS in Human Alveolar Cells

Researchers compared uptake of virgin and oxidized polystyrene nano- and microparticles in human lung cells, finding that photoaged particles showed altered surface chemistry and different cellular internalization patterns relevant to realistic airborne microplastic exposure.

2023 Toxics 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the Pulmonary Toxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics: A Hierarchical Oxidative Stress Mechanism Driving Acute–Subacute Lung Injury

Researchers investigated the pulmonary toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics smaller than 100 nm in lung epithelial cells and macrophages, finding that exposure triggered a hierarchical oxidative stress mechanism that drove acute to subacute lung injury through lipid peroxidation and inflammation.

2025 Research
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Toxicological Sciences 39 citations
Article Tier 2

In vitro effects of aged low-density polyethylene micro(nano)plastic particles on human airway epithelial cells.

Aged low-density polyethylene (LDPE) micro(nano)plastic particles were found to damage human airway epithelial cells in vitro, causing oxidative stress, inflammation, and cytotoxicity at relevant concentrations. UV-weathered LDPE particles were more toxic than unaged counterparts, highlighting the importance of environmental aging in assessing airborne MP health risks.

2025 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
Article Tier 2

Photoaging of polystyrene microspheres causes oxidative alterations to surface physicochemistry and enhances airway epithelial toxicity

Researchers photoaged polystyrene microspheres under ultraviolet radiation for five weeks and then compared their toxicity to pristine microspheres in A549 human lung cells. They found that UV aging increased polar surface groups on the particles and produced more pronounced oxidative stress, cell cycle arrest, and morphological changes than pristine microspheres, with toxicity further shaped by particle size, dose, and exposure duration.

2022 Research Square (Research Square) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Acute Exposure to Aerosolized Nanoplastics Modulates Redox-Linked Immune Responses in Human Airway Epithelium

Researchers exposed a 3D model of human airway tissue from 14 healthy donors to aerosolized polystyrene nanoplastics over three days and found that while the particles did not cause structural damage, they triggered changes in immune-related gene expression. The nanoplastics activated oxidative stress pathways and altered the expression of genes involved in inflammation and antioxidant defense. The study suggests that even short-term inhalation of nanoplastics could subtly shift immune responses in the airways.

2025 Antioxidants 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging Processes Dramatically Alter the Protein Corona Constitution, Cellular Internalization, and Cytotoxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics

Researchers found that aging processes such as UV and ozone exposure dramatically alter how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with blood plasma proteins, form protein coronas, and enter cells. The study suggests that environmentally aged nanoplastics may have different biological effects than pristine particles, which has important implications for accurately assessing the health risks of real-world nanoplastic exposure.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 45 citations
Article Tier 2

In vitro evaluation of nanoplastics using human lung epithelial cells, microarray analysis and co-culture model

Researchers tested polystyrene nanoplastics on two types of human lung cells and found that the particles caused cell damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation-related gene changes at relatively low concentrations. Using a co-culture model that mimics the lung's layered structure, they showed that nanoplastics can trigger immune responses even in cells not directly exposed. The study suggests that inhaled nanoplastics may pose respiratory health risks through both direct toxicity and inflammatory signaling.

2021 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 199 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics mediate oxidative stress, senescence, and apoptosis in a human alveolar epithelial cell line

A cell study found that polystyrene nanoplastics cause dose-dependent damage to human lung cells, triggering oxidative stress, premature cell aging, and cell death. These findings suggest that breathing in nanoplastics could harm lung tissue over time and potentially contribute to cancer risk from air pollution.

2024 Frontiers in Public Health 47 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Inflammatory Effects of Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Nasal Airway Epithelial Cells

Researchers found that polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics cause inflammatory cytokine responses in nasal epithelial cells even over short exposure periods. The study also observed ciliary blunting and transcriptional evidence of significant inflammation and stress responses, suggesting that the nasal airway is vulnerable to plastic particle exposure.

2025 International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Internalization and toxicity: A preliminary study of effects of nanoplastic particles on human lung epithelial cell

Researchers studied the effects of polystyrene nanoplastic particles on human lung cells and found that the particles were internalized by the cells and caused dose-dependent toxicity. The nanoplastics triggered oxidative stress, inflammation, and disrupted normal cell function. The findings suggest that inhaling airborne nanoplastics may pose risks to respiratory health.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 613 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of the pulmonary toxicity of PSNPs using a Transwell-based normal human bronchial epithelial cell culture system

Researchers used a Transwell air-liquid interface cell culture system to assess how polystyrene nanoplastics affect human bronchial epithelial cells, finding that even ultralow, non-cytotoxic doses triggered inflammatory signaling (NF-κB, NLRP3), while higher doses induced apoptosis and autophagy — suggesting nanoplastics pose a pulmonary health risk at ambient exposure levels.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Sterile inflammation induced by respirable micro and nano polystyrene particles in the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases

Researchers exposed human lung and immune cells to polystyrene micro and nanoparticles and found they triggered a type of inflammation that does not require infection, called sterile inflammation. Aged (oxidized) particles and those that interacted with immune cells were especially potent at activating inflammatory pathways including the NLRP3 inflammasome. This suggests that breathing in airborne microplastics could cause chronic lung inflammation over time.

2024 Toxicology Research 11 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Chemosphere 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic effects of nanoplastics with different sizes and surface charges on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in A549 cells and the potential toxicological mechanism

Researchers exposed human lung cells to polystyrene nanoplastics of different sizes and surface charges and found they triggered a process called epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, which is associated with the early stages of lung fibrosis. Smaller particles and those with positive surface charges caused the strongest effects, activating oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways. The study suggests that inhaled nanoplastics could contribute to respiratory health risks by promoting tissue scarring in the lungs.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 190 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological assays and metabolomic profiling to evaluate the effects of virgin and aged micro- and nano- polystyrene plastics in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells

Human neuroblastoma cells exposed to polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics showed oxidative stress, DNA damage, and disrupted energy and amino acid metabolism, with aged and oxidized particles causing the worst effects. Since plastics in the environment are typically weathered rather than fresh, this suggests that real-world nanoplastic exposure may pose greater risks to brain cells than lab studies using pristine particles have indicated.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Size- and oxidative potential-dependent toxicity of environmentally relevant expanded polystyrene styrofoam microplastics to macrophages

Researchers tested how Styrofoam microplastics of different sizes and weathering conditions affect human immune cells and found that smaller particles, UV-weathered particles, and those from real-world sources were all more toxic. The microplastics triggered inflammation through a pathway called the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is linked to many chronic diseases. This is concerning because most Styrofoam in the environment has been weathered by sunlight, meaning the real-world health risks may be worse than lab studies using fresh materials suggest.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Cytotoxicity analysis of polystyrene nanoplastics in the bronchial epithelial cell line BEAS-2B

Researchers exposed bronchial epithelial cells to europium-doped polystyrene nanoplastics to assess cytotoxicity in a model of the human airway. The nanoplastics caused dose-dependent cell death and inflammatory signaling, supporting concerns about respiratory health effects from inhaled plastic particles.

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

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.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 83 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of weathering and simulated gastric fluid exposure on cellular responses to polystyrene particles

Researchers studied the effects of weathering and simulated gastric fluid exposure on cellular responses to polystyrene particles. The study suggests that environmental weathering can alter how micro- and nanoplastics interact with biological systems, with potential implications for understanding human health effects from ingested plastic particles.

2024 Environmental Science Nano 3 citations