Microplastic and nanoplastic particles are prevalent in the environment and are beginning to enter the living system through multiple channels. Currently, little is known about the impact of plastic nanoparticles in living organisms. In order to investigate the health impact of micro- and nanoparticles of common polymers in a systematic way, luminescent plastic nanoparticles from two common polymers, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with relatively narrow size distribution are prepared using a nanoprecipitation method. As a model system, BHK-21 cells were exposed to polymer nanoparticles to understand the mode of uptake, internalization and biochemical changes inside the cells. The cellular effects of the nanoparticles were evaluated by monitoring the changes in cell viability, cell morphology, concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS), adenine triphosphate (ATP) and lactate dehydrogenase at different concentrations of the nanoparticles and time of exposure. PVC and PMMA nanoparticles induced a reduction in the cell viability along with a reduction of ATP and increase of ROS concentrations in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The plastic nanoparticles are internalized into the cell via endocytosis, as confirmed by Dynasore inhibition assay and colocalization with latex beads. Our findings suggest that plastic nanoparticle internalization could perturb cellular physiology and affect cell survival under laboratory conditions.
High concentrations of micro- and
nanoparticles of common plastic
materials present in the environment are causing an adverse health
impact on living organisms. As a model study, here we report the synthesis
and characterization of luminescent polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and poly(methyl
methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoparticles and investigate the interaction
with normal human lung fibroblast cells (IMR 90) to understand the
uptake, translocation, and toxicity of PVC and PMMA nanoparticles.
The synthesized particles are in the size range of 120–140
nm with a negative surface potential. The colocalization and uptake
efficiency of the nanoparticles were analyzed, and the cytotoxicity
assay shows significant reduction in cell viability. Cellular internalization
was investigated using colocalization and dynasore inhibitor tests,
which showed that the PVC and PMMA nanoparticles enter into the cell
via endocytosis. The polymer nanoparticles induced a reduction in
viability, decrease in adenosine triphosphate, and increase in reactive
oxygen species and lactate dehydrogenase concentrations. In addition,
the polymer nanoparticles caused cell cycle arrest at sub-G1, G0/G1, and G2/M phases, followed by apoptotic
cell death. Our results reported here are important to the emerging
data on understanding the impact of common polymer particles on human
health.
Nontoxic adhesive hydrogels are of great importance in tissue engineering. Herein, we report a simple synthesis of a few biocompatible hydrogels from adenine and dopamine immobilized polyacrylic acid (PAA) and...
Molecular
and macromolecular templates are known to affect the
shape, size, and polymorph selectivity on the biomineralization of
calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Micro- and nanoparticles of
common polymers present in the environment are beginning to show toxicity
in living organisms. In this study, the role of plastic nanoparticles
in the biomineralization of CaCO3 is explored to understand
the ecological impact of plastic pollution. As a model study, luminescent
poly(methyl methacrylate) nanoparticles (PMMA-NPs) were prepared using
the nanoprecipitation method, fully characterized, and used for the
mineralization experiments to understand their influence on nucleation,
morphology, and polymorph selectivity of CaCO3 crystals.
The PMMA-NPs induced calcite crystal nucleation with spherical morphologies
at high concentrations. Microplastic particles collected from a commercial
face scrub were also used for CaCO3 nucleation to observe
the nucleation of calcite crystals on the particle surface. Microscopic,
spectroscopic, and X-ray diffraction data were used to characterize
and identify the nucleated crystals. The data presented in this paper
add more information on the impact of microplastics on the marine
environment.
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