Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Biointerphases 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Time evolution of protein corona formed by polystyrene nanoplastics and urease

Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with urease to form a protein corona over time, finding that the corona's composition and structure evolve dynamically, potentially altering the environmental fate and hazards of nanoplastics.

2022 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 24 citations
Article Tier 2

The crucial role of a protein corona in determining the aggregation kinetics and colloidal stability of polystyrene nanoplastics

Time-resolved dynamic light scattering was used to study how protein coronas — protein layers that form on nanoplastics in biological or environmental fluids — control the aggregation kinetics and colloidal stability of polystyrene nanoplastics. Protein identity and concentration profoundly shifted nanoplastic behavior, with implications for how these particles move and persist in natural water systems.

2020 Water Research 129 citations
Article Tier 2

A different protein corona cloaks “true-to-life” nanoplastics with respect to synthetic polystyrene nanobeads

Researchers found that environmentally realistic 'true-to-life' nanoplastics acquire a distinct protein corona compared to synthetic polystyrene nanobeads, suggesting that laboratory studies using standard nanobeads may not accurately reflect how environmental nanoplastics interact with biological systems.

2022 Environmental Science Nano 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Soft and Hard Interactions between Polystyrene Nanoplastics and Human Serum Albumin Protein Corona

The structure of protein coronas formed when polystyrene nanoplastics interact with human serum albumin (HSA) was analyzed, finding that nanoplastic size and pH influenced whether hard (irreversible) or soft (exchangeable) corona formed, with weak but size-dependent interactions occurring despite the overall low affinity. The study provides mechanistic insight into how nanoplastics may interact with blood proteins upon entering the human circulatory system.

2019 Bioconjugate Chemistry 134 citations
Article Tier 2

Tailor-Made Protein Corona Formation on Polystyrene Microparticles and its Effect on Epithelial Cell Uptake

Researchers investigated how protein corona formation on polystyrene microparticles affects epithelial cell uptake, finding that the initial protein precoating critically influenced final corona composition and particle-cell interactions while leaving cell viability unaffected.

2022 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 30 citations
Article Tier 2

[Formation and characteristics of polystyrene nanoplastic-plant protein corona].

Researchers investigated the formation and characteristics of protein corona on three differently surface-modified polystyrene nanoplastics (200 nm) incubated with leaf proteins from Impatiens hawkeri over 36 hours, using SEM, AFM, nanoparticle size analysis, and LC-MS/MS protein identification. Results showed increasing nanoplastic size, surface roughness, and stability as protein corona formed, with soft-to-hard corona transformation rates similar across all three nanoplastic surface modifications.

2023 PubMed 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Protein binding on acutely toxic and non-toxic polystyrene nanoparticles during filtration by Daphnia magna

Researchers investigated protein binding on acutely toxic versus non-toxic polystyrene nanoparticles during filtration by Daphnia magna zooplankton, finding that the two particle types bind different protein profiles, suggesting that surface protein corona composition may help explain differential toxicity outcomes.

2022 Environmental Science Nano 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Compromised Autophagic Effect of Polystyrene Nanoplastics Mediated by Protein Corona Was Recovered after Lysosomal Degradation of Corona

Researchers discovered that when polystyrene nanoplastics enter biological environments, proteins coat their surface forming a protective corona that initially reduces their toxic effects on cells. However, once cells internalize the particles and break down the protein layer in lysosomes, the original toxicity returns, including blocked autophagy and lysosomal damage. The study reveals that protein coronas temporarily mask nanoplastic toxicity rather than permanently neutralizing it.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 131 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics in zebrafish liver cells: Influence of protein corona on transport, oxidative stress, and glycolipid metabolism

Scientists studied how proteins in biological fluids coat nanoplastic particles (forming a "protein corona") and how this coating changes the way cells take up and process the plastics. The protein coating actually increased how many nanoplastics entered liver cells and made them harder to clear out, suggesting that once nanoplastics enter the bloodstream, the body's own proteins may make the contamination harder to eliminate.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Protein Corona Formation and Polystyrene Nanoparticle Functionalisation on the Interaction with Dynamic Biomimetic Membranes Comprising of Integrin

Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoparticles interact with blood proteins and cell membranes to understand potential health effects of nanoplastic exposure. They found that when blood proteins coat the nanoparticles, forming a so-called protein corona, it actually reduces the particles' ability to damage cell membranes. The study suggests that the body's natural protein coating of nanoplastics may offer some protection against membrane disruption, though the long-term implications remain unclear.

2024 ChemBioChem 5 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

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

Protein corona-induced aggregation of differently sized nanoplastics: impacts of protein type and concentration

The aggregation behavior of two sizes of nanoplastic particles in aquatic environments differed depending on the electrical characteristics and concentration of proteins present. Protein coronas altered particle-particle interactions, with implications for nanoplastic fate and transport in natural water systems.

2021 Environmental Science Nano 91 citations
Article Tier 2

A Different Protein Corona Cloaks “True-to-Life” Nanoplastics with Respect to Synthetic Polystyrene Nanobeads

Researchers produced 'true-to-life' nanoplastics by mechanically fragmenting everyday plastic items under cryogenic conditions and found they acquire a distinct protein corona compared to synthetic polystyrene nanobeads, suggesting that lab studies using commercial nanobeads may not accurately represent environmental nanoplastic behavior.

2021 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of the Protein Corona in the Colloidal Behavior of Microplastics

Researchers investigated how protein coronas form on polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics in biological media, finding that proteins act as surfactants that alter the colloidal behavior and stability of microplastics in aquatic environments.

2023 Langmuir 34 citations
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

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

Unravelling protein corona formation on pristine and leached microplastics

When microplastics enter biological fluids or protein-rich environments, proteins coat their surface to form a 'protein corona' that changes how the particles behave in living systems. This study explored how the physical and chemical properties of pristine versus weathered microplastics influence corona formation, finding that surface changes caused by environmental aging significantly alter protein binding. Understanding this process matters because the protein coat — not the plastic itself — is often what cells and organisms first encounter.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Cell uptake of mixtures of different-sized nanoplastics: Interplay and mechanism

Researchers studied how two sizes of polystyrene nanoplastics interact during cellular uptake, finding that larger 100 nm particles can pull smaller 50 nm particles into cells via clathrin-mediated endocytosis, while smaller particles alter the protein corona of larger ones in serum, either enhancing or inhibiting uptake depending on concentration ratios.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
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

Submicron-size polystyrene modulates amyloid fibril formation: From the perspective of protein corona

Submicron polystyrene particles (400 nm) promoted the formation of amyloid fibrils in hen egg-white lysozyme by adsorbing to the protein surface and altering its folding dynamics, an effect mediated through the protein corona that forms on nanoplastic surfaces. The findings raise concern that nanoplastics could seed or accelerate amyloid aggregation processes relevant to neurodegenerative diseases.

2022 Colloids and Surfaces B Biointerfaces 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Defining the size ranges of polystyrene nanoplastics according to their ability to cross biological barriers

Researchers systematically examined polystyrene nanoplastics of different sizes to define the size ranges at which they can cross biological barriers, providing a more precise definition of nanoplastic dimensions relevant to toxicological assessment.

2023 Environmental Science Nano 34 citations
Article Tier 2

The influence of nanoplastics' surface charge on the formation of protein corona and the subsequent sorption of Cd2 + and Pb2+ ions

Researchers investigated how protein corona formation on positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics affected the subsequent adsorption of cadmium and lead ions, finding that surface charge influenced glycoprotein adsorption but that protein-coated particles from both charge types accumulated similar heavy metal loads in human serum.

2025 Colloids and Surfaces C Environmental Aspects