Papers

61,005 results
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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

Interactions of Micro- and Nanoplastics with Biomolecules: From Public Health to Protein Corona Effect and Beyond

This review summarizes how micro- and nanoplastics interact with biological molecules in the body, including cell membranes and proteins. These particles can cause membranes to thicken and form pores, and they attract a coating of proteins (called a protein corona) that changes how the body responds to them, potentially increasing inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of hormone systems.

2025 The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 10 citations
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

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

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

Eco-corona formation and associated ecotoxicological impacts of nanoplastics in the environment

This review examines how nanoplastics interact with natural organic matter in the environment to form an 'eco-corona,' a coating of biomolecules on the particle surface that changes their behavior and toxicity. Researchers found that eco-corona formation alters nanoplastic stability, transport, and biological interactions in ways that can either increase or decrease their harmful effects on organisms. The study highlights the importance of considering these surface transformations when assessing the real-world environmental risks of nanoplastic pollution.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 75 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

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

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

Uptake of extracellular vesicles into immune cells is enhanced by the protein corona

This study found that a protein coating (called a "corona") that forms around nanoparticles in blood actually increases their uptake by human immune cells called monocytes. While this research focused on extracellular vesicles and liposomes rather than plastic particles, the finding is relevant to microplastics research because similar protein coronas form on plastic nanoparticles in the body, potentially influencing how immune cells interact with them.

2023 Journal of Extracellular Vesicles 77 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

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

Interaction of nanoplastics with extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in the aquatic environment: A special reference to eco-corona formation and associated impacts

This review examines how nanoplastics in aquatic environments interact with natural biomolecules to form an eco-corona coating that fundamentally changes their behavior and ecological impact. Researchers found that this biological coating alters the surface chemistry, transport, and toxicity of nanoplastic particles in ways that depend on environmental conditions. The study highlights that understanding eco-corona formation is essential for accurately assessing the real-world risks of nanoplastic pollution.

2021 Water Research 204 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

Structure of soft and hard protein corona around polystyrene nanoplastics—Particle size and protein types

Researchers characterized the protein corona that forms around polystyrene nanoplastics of different sizes, finding that particle size influences which proteins bind and how tightly, with implications for nanoplastic toxicity and biological uptake.

2020 Biointerphases 62 citations
Article Tier 2

The Formation of Protein Corona by Nanoplastics and Horseradish Peroxidase

Researchers investigated the formation of protein corona on amino-functionalized polystyrene nanoplastics by horseradish peroxidase, characterizing the adsorption interaction using multiple analytical approaches to understand how nanoplastics acquire protein coatings in biological environments. They found that nanoplastics readily adsorb the enzyme to form a stable protein corona, which may alter both nanoplastic behavior in biological systems and enzyme activity.

2022 Nanomaterials 9 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

Protein corona alleviates adverse biological effects of nanoplastics in breast cancer cells

Scientists discovered that when nanoplastics enter human blood, proteins naturally coat their surface forming a "protein corona," and this coating actually reduces some of the harmful effects of the plastics on breast cancer cells. Without the protein coating, nanoplastics stuck to cell membranes and disrupted important signaling pathways, but coated particles were safely captured inside cellular compartments. This finding suggests that the body may have some natural defense against nanoplastics in the bloodstream, though the long-term effects of this process remain unknown.

2024 Nanoscale 13 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

Aquatic organisms modulate the bioreactivity of engineered nanoparticles: focus on biomolecular corona

This review examines how aquatic organisms influence the bioreactivity of engineered nanoparticles through the formation of a biomolecular corona in environmental settings. Researchers found that biological molecules shed by organisms can coat nanoparticle surfaces and significantly alter their behavior, toxicity, and fate in aquatic ecosystems beyond what standard laboratory toxicity studies capture.

2022 Frontiers in Toxicology 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Protein Microplastic Coronation Complexes Trigger Proteome Changes in Brain-Derived Neuronal and Glial Cells

Researchers used a proteomics approach to study how microplastics interact with brain-derived neuronal and glial cells, finding that the particles adsorb proteins from biological fluids to form a coating called a protein corona. This corona significantly altered protein expression in cells compared to bare microplastic particles, affecting protein synthesis, lipid metabolism, and cellular transport processes. The study suggests that the protein corona on microplastics may play a key role in how these particles affect brain cells.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 2 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

The protein corona from nanomedicine to environmental science

Researchers reviewed the state of protein corona research — the spontaneous coating of proteins onto nanoparticle surfaces in biological environments — highlighting how artificial intelligence could accelerate the field and how mechanistic insights could improve both nanomedicine therapeutics and environmental safety assessments.

2023 Nature Reviews Materials 492 citations
Article Tier 2

Contribution of Cancer-Specific Protein Coronas to the Pro-Tumor Effects of Nanoplastics through Enhanced Cellular Interactions

Researchers investigated how nanoplastics interact with blood proteins to form a protein coating that changes how the particles behave around cancer cells. They found that this protein coating enhanced the uptake of nanoplastics by cancer cells and could promote tumor-related behaviors. The study raises important questions about whether nanoplastic exposure could influence cancer progression through these protein-mediated interactions.

2024 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 6 citations