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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics destabilize lipid membranes by mechanical stretching
ClearSynergistic effects of marine pollutants and microplastics on the destabilization of lipid bilayers
Researchers found that marine pollutants such as chemical solvents synergistically amplify the mechanical stress that microplastic particles exert on lipid bilayer membranes, with microplastics acting as vectors that facilitate solvent penetration into membrane cores and potentially disrupting cellular integrity.
Effects of polyethylene microplastics on cell membranes: A combined study of experiments and molecular dynamics simulations
Researchers combined laboratory experiments with molecular dynamics simulations to study how polyethylene microplastics interact with cell membranes. They found that nanoscale plastic particles can penetrate and disrupt cell membrane structure, causing leakage and potentially leading to cell damage. The study provides a detailed molecular-level understanding of one of the fundamental ways microplastics may harm living cells.
Ageing Affects the Mechanical Interactionbetween Microplastics and Lipid Bilayers
Researchers found that as polyethylene microplastics age and become more hydrophilic, they adhere more strongly to lipid bilayers and cause greater membrane stretching, suggesting that weathered microplastics in the environment may pose higher biological risks than fresh particles.
Synergistic effects of marine pollutants and microplastics on the destabilization of lipid bilayers
Researchers found that marine pollutants and microplastics act synergistically to destabilize lipid bilayers, suggesting that the combined presence of plastic particles and co-adsorbed chemicals may amplify cellular membrane damage beyond what either stressor causes alone.
Entry of microparticles into giant lipid vesicles by optical tweezers
Using optical tweezers to apply precise forces, this study showed that microparticles can be pushed through lipid membrane vesicles — a model for cell membranes — when external mechanical force is applied and membrane tension is low. The findings provide mechanistic insight into how microplastics might physically cross cell membranes and enter cells, a key step in understanding potential cellular toxicity.
Perturbation of Nanoplastics on Biomembranes: Molecular Insights from Neutron Scattering
Scientists found that tiny plastic particles called nanoplastics can seriously damage cell membranes, which are the protective barriers around our cells. The plastic particles caused membranes to break apart and get thinner, though some natural cell types were more resistant to damage than others. This research helps us understand why the growing amount of plastic pollution in our environment and food could pose health risks to humans.
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.
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.
Aging affects the mechanical interaction between microplastics and lipid bilayers
Researchers examined how environmental aging affects the mechanical interaction between microplastics and lipid bilayers, a key component of biological membranes. Using polyethylene pellets collected from a Spanish beach and categorized by yellowing index, they found that aged microplastics showed significantly increased adhesion to lipid bilayers and caused greater membrane stretching. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics may interact more aggressively with biological membranes than pristine particles.
Synergistic effects of marine pollutants and microplastics on the destabilization of lipid bilayers
Researchers investigated synergistic effects of marine pollutants combined with microplastics on lipid bilayer stability using biophysical methods, finding that microplastics — which can be present in human blood and organs — destabilize lipid membranes more severely in combination with co-occurring marine pollutants than either contaminant alone.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Micelles and Nanoplastics as Silent Physical Equalizers of Life Why Non‑Toxic Systems May Represent a Fundamental Environmental Threat
Researchers propose a new framework for understanding how micelles from surfactants and nanoplastic particles may threaten living systems not through chemical toxicity, but through gradual physical disruption of cell membranes. The study suggests these ubiquitous structures act as silent equalizers that slowly erode membrane integrity by promoting lipid redistribution and increasing permeability, potentially exerting chronic pressure on microbial and planktonic ecosystems.
Research progress on the cellular toxicity caused by microplastics and nanoplastics
This review summarizes current research on how microplastics and nanoplastics cause damage at the cellular level. Researchers identified four main ways these particles harm cells: triggering oxidative stress, damaging cell membranes and organelles, causing inflammation, and disrupting DNA. The findings highlight growing evidence that plastic particles small enough to enter cells can interfere with fundamental biological processes.
Synergistic Effects of Microplastics and Marine Pollutants on the Destabilization of Lipid Bilayers
Using computer simulations, this study showed that microplastics combined with common marine pollutants can destabilize the lipid membranes that protect our cells. The pollutants attached to microplastic surfaces were more effective at penetrating cell membranes than the pollutants alone. This means microplastics may act as carriers that help harmful chemicals get into cells more easily, increasing their toxic effects.
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.
Polystyrene-InducedDehydration of Lipid Membranes:Insights from Atomistic Simulations
Researchers used atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with lipid bilayer membranes after penetrating them, focusing specifically on whether and how such particles induce membrane dehydration. They found that polystyrene nanoplastics cause significant dehydration of lipid membranes, providing new mechanistic insight into nanoplastic-induced cellular disruption.
Micelles and Nanoplastics as Silent Physical Equalizers of Life Why Non‑Toxic Systems May Represent a Fundamental Environmental Threat
Researchers propose that micelles and nanoplastics, though chemically non-toxic, may represent a fundamental environmental threat by physically destabilizing biological lipid membranes. The study suggests these ubiquitous particles act as mobile structures that progressively disrupt cell interfaces and transport hydrophobic compounds, potentially altering the basic physical rules governing microbial and cellular life in aquatic environments.
Nanosized microplastics damage cell membranes by altering lateral and transverse distributions of cholesterol
Researchers used atomic-scale molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how nanosized polystyrene microplastics interact with cholesterol-containing model cell membranes, examining changes to lateral and transverse cholesterol distributions. The simulations reveal that nanoplastic particles disrupt membrane organization by altering cholesterol positioning, providing a molecular mechanism for the membrane damage associated with nanoplastic exposure.
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.
Polystyrene-Induced Dehydration of Lipid Membranes: Insights from Atomistic Simulations
Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations revealed that polystyrene nanoplastics cause dehydration of lipid membranes upon contact, extracting water molecules from the bilayer interface in ways that could alter membrane structure and function relevant to cellular uptake of nanoplastic particles.
Introduction: How to Begin Studying Membranes and Their Reactions to Inert Particles
This methodological introduction outlined principles for studying how biological membranes respond to inert particle exposure, including microplastics and nanoparticles. The work emphasizes membrane physics as a lens through which to understand particle toxicity independent of chemical composition.