Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

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.

2019 Scientific Reports 289 citations
Article Tier 2

Strong binding between nanoplastic and bacterial proteins facilitates protein corona formation and reduces nanoplastics toxicity

Researchers demonstrated that bacteria-derived proteins adsorb strongly onto nanoplastic surfaces to form a 'protein corona,' altering nanoplastic morphology and reducing their toxicity to bacterial cells — with the degree of protection varying by surface chemistry, as amino-modified nanoplastics showed the greatest reduction in oxidative damage after corona formation.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

An integrative method for evaluating the biological effects of nanoparticle-protein corona.

Researchers developed an integrative method combining dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and cellular assays to evaluate how protein corona formation on nanoplastic surfaces alters their biological interactions, finding that corona composition significantly changes cellular uptake pathways and cytotoxicity profiles.

2023 Biochimica et biophysica acta. General subjects
Article Tier 2

Coronas of micro/nano plastics: a key determinant in their risk assessments

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics develop surface coatings called coronas when they interact with biological and environmental substances. These corona layers, formed from proteins, organic matter, and other materials, can significantly change how plastic particles behave in the body and environment, affecting their uptake, distribution, and toxicity. The study suggests that understanding these surface coatings is essential for accurately assessing the real-world risks of plastic particle exposure.

2022 Particle and Fibre Toxicology 143 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics at the Placenta–Fetal Interface: Emerging Chemical Toxicology Concerns

Researchers reviewed how nanoplastics interact with trophoblasts at the placenta-fetal interface, identifying plastic additives, surface chemistry, and adsorbed protein coronas as drivers of oxidative stress and disrupted cellular function, and calling for advanced placental models to guide developmental toxicity risk assessment.

2026 Chemical Research in Toxicology
Article Tier 2

In vivo , in vitro , and in silico toxicology studies of nanoplastics and their modeling

This in vivo, in vitro, and in silico study assessed nanoplastic toxicity through multiple complementary methods, finding concentration-dependent toxic effects on cellular and organismal endpoints and using computational modeling to predict interaction mechanisms relevant to nanoplastic risk assessment.

2025 Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods
Article Tier 2

The interaction of micro/nano plastics and the environment: Effects of ecological corona on the toxicity to aquatic organisms.

This review examines how the ecological corona — the layer of organic matter, proteins, and microbes that form on micro- and nanoplastic surfaces in water — affects their toxicity to aquatic organisms. The ecological corona can either increase or decrease toxicity depending on its composition, making real-world plastic hazard assessment more complex than laboratory tests with clean particles suggest.

2022 Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Article Tier 2

Unravelling protein corona formation on pristine and leached microplastics

Researchers found that when microplastics encounter proteins in biological fluids, they get coated in a "protein corona" that depends heavily on the plastic's chemical additives, surface area, and how much it has been weathered in the environment. This coating changes how microplastics behave in the body, meaning toxicity studies need to account for these real-world surface changes.

2024 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 23 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Small 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological considerations of nano-sized plastics

This review examined the toxicological considerations specific to nanoplastics, focusing on how particle deposition in different biological compartments, physical properties (size, shape, surface chemistry), and chemical additives interact to determine biological effects. The authors argue that understanding nanoplastic toxicology requires shifting focus from exposure characterization to mechanistic biological relevance at the tissue and organ level.

2019 AIMS environmental science 132 citations
Article Tier 2

The Composition of the Eco-corona Acquired by Micro- and Nanoscale Plastics Impacts on their Ecotoxicity and Interactions with Co-pollutants

This review examines how the 'eco-corona' — a layer of environmental biomolecules adsorbing onto plastic particle surfaces — alters the toxicity, transport, and interaction with co-pollutants of micro- and nanoplastics, emphasizing that this biological coating fundamentally changes how plastics behave in living organisms.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental dimensions of the protein corona

Researchers reviewed how nanomaterials entering natural environments acquire an "eco-corona" — a coating of proteins and other biomolecules that alters how organisms recognize and interact with the particles — and called for targeted research into how this coating changes during food chain transfer and affects ecotoxicity.

2021 Nature Nanotechnology 351 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of micro and nanoplastic toxicity and their protein corona using in vitro and in silico new approach methodologies

This research improved laboratory and computational methods for assessing microplastic and nanoplastic toxicity in the human intestine. Researchers found that realistic, irregularly shaped secondary nanoplastics were more toxic to intestinal cells than the pristine spherical particles typically used in lab studies. The study also showed that proteins from the body rapidly coat nanoplastic surfaces, forming a corona that influences how particles interact with and affect gut cells.

2026
Article Tier 2

Immunotoxicity of nanomaterials in health and disease: Current challenges and emerging approaches for identifying immune modifiers in susceptible populations

This review examines emerging approaches for assessing the immunotoxicity of nanomaterials, including nanoplastics, with a focus on vulnerable populations. Researchers describe the evolution from simple cell models to advanced systems that more realistically mimic how the body interacts with nanoparticles, including the role of protein corona formation. The study highlights the need to understand how nanomaterial exposure may shift the immune system toward either inflammatory or tolerant states, using integrated experimental and computational methods.

2022 Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Materials, surfaces, and interfacial phenomena in nanoplastics toxicology research

This review examines how the materials and surface properties of engineered nanoplastics used in toxicology research may not accurately represent real environmental nanoplastics. Researchers found that surfactants, fluorescent labels, and surface modifications commonly applied to lab-made nanoparticles can alter their toxicological profiles in unpredictable ways. The study calls for greater attention to how particle surface chemistry and preparation methods influence experimental outcomes in nanoplastics safety research.

2021 Environmental Pollution 84 citations
Article Tier 2

The Challenges and Opportunities of Protein Coronas for Nanoscale Biomolecular Sensing

Researchers reviewed how protein layers that naturally form around nanoscale objects in biological fluids affect the performance of tiny biosensors. They found that this protein coating can block sensors from detecting target molecules, but new strategies are emerging to work around or even take advantage of this effect. The study is relevant to understanding how nanoplastics behave in the body, since similar protein layers form around plastic nanoparticles and influence their biological interactions.

2025 Small 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Protein–Nanoparticle Interaction: Corona Formation and Conformational Changes in Proteins on Nanoparticles

This review examines how proteins adsorb onto the surfaces of nanoparticles to form a protein corona, which significantly alters the particles' biological behavior and functionality. Researchers describe how the corona can cause conformational changes in proteins that lead to unexpected immune responses, altered cellular uptake, and changes in toxicity. The findings are relevant to understanding how nanoplastics interact with biological systems, since protein corona formation is a key factor governing their environmental and health effects.

2020 International Journal of Nanomedicine 275 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics and Protein Corona - Investigating the Corona Structure and their Biological Impacts

This PhD thesis investigated how proteins from biological fluids coat the surface of nanoplastics, forming a 'protein corona' that changes how nanoplastics interact with cells and tissues. The protein corona is important because it alters the biological behavior of nanoplastics once they enter the body, potentially affecting how harmful they are.

2021 ResearchSPAce (Bath Spa University)
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological significance of bio-corona formation on micro/nanoplastics in aquatic organisms

This review examined the ecotoxicological significance of bio-corona formation on micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic organisms, exploring how protein and biomolecule coatings alter the bioavailability, toxicity, and environmental fate of plastic particles.

2023 RSC Advances 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in toxicological research of nanoplastics in the environment: A review

Researchers systematically reviewed nanoplastic toxicology, finding that surface charge and particle size are the dominant determinants of harm — positively charged and smaller particles penetrate cell membranes more readily — and that adsorbed contaminants released inside organisms often pose greater toxicological risks than the nanoplastic particles themselves.

2019 Environmental Pollution 652 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Biophysical Chemistry 13 citations
Article Tier 2

A 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.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

A 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.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Health impacts of micro- and nanoplastics: key influencing factors, limitations, and future perspectives

This review systematically analyzed how the physicochemical properties of micro- and nanoplastics — including size, shape, surface charge, and polymer type — determine their toxicological impacts across biological systems. The authors argue that property-based frameworks are essential for predicting MNP health risks and designing relevant research.

2025 Archives of Toxicology