Interfacial Interactions between Nanoplastics and Biological Systems: toward an Atomic and Molecular Understanding of Plastics-Driven Biological Dyshomeostasis.

ABSTRACT: Micro- and nano-plastics (NPs) are found in human milk, blood, tissues, and organs and associate with aberrant health outcomes including inflammation, genotoxicity, developmental disorders, onset of chronic diseases, and autoimmune disorders. Yet, interfacial interactions between plastics and biomolecular systems remain underexplored. Here, we have examined experimentally, in vitro, in vivo, and by computation, the impact of polystyrene (PS) NPs on a host of biomolecular systems and assemblies. Our results reveal that PS NPs essentially abolished the helix-content of the milk protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG) in a dose-dependent manner. Helix loss is corelated with the near stoichiometric formation of β-sheet elements in the protein. Structural alterations in BLG are also likely responsible fo

SUBMITTER: Karim A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11694484 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature