Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Multivariate Analysis of Protein–Nanoparticle Binding Data Reveals a Selective Effect of Nanoparticle Material on the Formation of Soft Corona

Researchers used dynamic light scattering to study how plasma proteins form a loosely bound "soft corona" around nanoparticles in the bloodstream. They found that the nanoparticle material itself selectively influences which proteins attach in the soft corona, distinct from the more commonly studied hard corona. The findings may help improve the design of nanomedicines by better predicting how particles interact with blood proteins.

2023 Nanomaterials 7 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

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

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

Reviewing nanoplastic toxicology: It's an interface problem

This review of nanoplastic toxicology argued that toxicity is fundamentally an interface problem — driven by surface properties, protein corona formation, and nano-bio interactions — and proposed mechanistic approaches borrowed from nanotoxicology to improve risk assessment frameworks.

2020 Advances in Colloid and Interface Science 110 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

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

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

Thermodynamic Analysis of Protein-Nanoparticle Interactions Links Binding Affinity and Structural Stability

Researchers examined how protein charge distribution influences adsorption onto polystyrene nanoparticles by engineering a series of lysozyme variants and analyzing binding affinity through thermodynamic analysis. They found that electrostatic properties of proteins strongly govern corona formation kinetics and structural stability when nanoplastics enter biological fluids.

2025
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

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

Surface hydrophobicity and rigidity determines protein corona on orally delivered nanoparticles treating colitis

Researchers showed that surface hydrophobicity and rigidity of orally delivered nanoparticles determine the composition of the colitis-specific intestinal protein corona, with high-rigidity, high-hydrophobicity particles attracting more macrophage-targeting proteins and achieving superior therapeutic outcomes in a rat colitis model.

2026 Nature Communications
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

Protein corona as a mediator in antibiotic adsorption onto microplastics: Mechanisms and implications

Researchers investigated how protein coronas that form on microplastic surfaces mediate the adsorption of antibiotics in environmental settings. The study provides direct evidence that biological molecules on microplastics facilitate chemical interactions with antibiotics, creating complexes that may pose risks to human health through environmental exposure pathways.

2025 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 1 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

Binding of Perfluoroalkyl Substances to Nanoplastic Protein Corona Is pH‐Dependent and Attenuates Their Bioavailability and Toxicity

Researchers investigated how pH affects the binding of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the protein corona that forms on nanoplastic surfaces in biological fluids. pH-dependent changes in protein corona composition significantly altered PFAS binding capacity, with implications for how nanoplastics transport PFAS in the body.

2024 Small Science
Article Tier 2

Proteins in contact with macro and microplastics : fate in solution and at interfaces

This French doctoral thesis investigated how proteins interact with plastic surfaces and microplastic particles in solution and at interfaces. The research found that proteins can adsorb to plastic surfaces, potentially altering both protein function and plastic behavior. These findings have implications for understanding how microplastics interact with biological molecules in the human body and environment.

2023 theses.fr (ABES)
Clinical Trial Tier 1

Artificial engineering of the protein corona at bio-nano interfaces for improved cancer-targeted nanotherapy

Researchers reviewed how engineering the protein corona — the layer of proteins that coats nanoparticles in biological fluids — through modifications like PEGylation and protein pre-coating can improve nanoparticle targeting for cancer drug delivery by controlling how immune cells recognize and clear the particles.

2022 Journal of Controlled Release 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Peptide CoronaFormation on Polyethylene Surfaces:A Combined Computational and Experimental Study

Researchers used molecular modeling and experiments to investigate how peptides form eco-corona layers on polyethylene microplastic surfaces, finding that peptide adsorption is governed by amino acid hydrophobicity and surface chemistry. The study provides molecular-level insight into how plastics integrate into biological environments by binding proteins and peptides.

2025 Figshare
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

Thermodynamic Analysis of Protein-Nanoparticle Interactions Links Binding Affinity and Structural Stability

Using model proteins with systematically altered surface charges, researchers showed that polystyrene nanoparticles destabilize protein structure upon contact, and that how strongly a protein binds to a nanoparticle surface predicts how much it will unfold. When nanoplastics enter biological fluids, they become coated in a protein 'corona' that determines how cells recognize and respond to them, so understanding the binding thermodynamics helps predict nanoplastic toxicity and biological behavior. This work builds a framework for forecasting which proteins are most vulnerable to disruption by nanoplastics—relevant to understanding their health effects.

2026 The Journal of Physical Chemistry B
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

Unraveling the interfacial fate of nanoplastics in soil: proteomics and molecular dynamics decipher the protein corona governed by surface functionalization

This study used proteomics and molecular dynamics simulations to examine how soil proteins coat nanoplastics — forming what is called a 'protein corona' — and how that coating changes depending on the nanoplastic's surface chemistry. The protein corona affects how nanoplastics move through soil and interact with living organisms, making this research important for understanding the true environmental fate of nanoplastics once they enter land ecosystems.

2026 Environmental Science Nano
Article Tier 2

Interfacial interactions between PMMA nanoplastics and a model globular protein: towards a molecular understanding of nanoplastic-driven biological dyshomeostasis

Researchers investigated the molecular interactions between PMMA nanoplastics and a model globular protein to understand how nanoplastics disrupt normal protein function. They found that PMMA nanoplastics bind to and alter the structural conformation of the protein, potentially contributing to cellular protein dysfunction.

2025 Environmental Science Nano