Microplastics and Health
The presence and potential health effects of microplastics in our environment, our food and our bodies have gained more and more recognition in the last years. Microplastic has been found on virtually every habitat on earth and especially in the oceans and aquatic animals plastic pollution is a tangible problem. But how does microplastic affect us and our health, and how can we measure it?
Microplastic research in a clinical setting is still in its infancy and standardized methods to isolate, quantify and identify microplastic particles in biomaterials, such as blood, stool, tissue, urine, etc, are still missing. Within microONE, we focus on the advancement of microplastic detection, identification and quantification in biomaterials with the defined goal to establish a middle-to-high throughput, affordable detection method.
Similar challenges are faced when testing microplastic in pre-clinical models. Standardized, well characterized, ideally labelled microplastic particles for controlled experiments are scares and therefore, most studies focus on primary polystyrene particles because they are easily manufactured and broadly available. However, whether these particles reflect real-life conditions is a matter of debate and they are certainly not representative of all types of plastic particles that can be found in the environment. Within microONE, we focus on production, characterization, identification and labelling of different microplastic particles, as reference particles as well as causative agents for pre-clinical experiments.
Microplastics and Health
The presence and potential health effects of microplastics in our environment, our food and our bodies have gained more and more recognition in the last years. Microplastic has been found on virtually every habitat on earth and especially in the oceans and aquatic animals plastic pollution is a tangible problem. But how does microplastic affect us and our health, and how can we measure it?
Microplastic research in a clinical setting is still in its infancy and standardized methods to isolate, quantify and identify microplastic particles in biomaterials, such as blood, stool, tissue, urine, etc, are still missing. Within microONE, we focus on the advancement of microplastic detection, identification and quantification in biomaterials with the defined goal to establish a middle-to-high throughput, affordable detection method.
Similar challenges are faced when testing microplastic in pre-clinical models. Standardized, well characterized, ideally labelled microplastic particles for controlled experiments are scares and therefore, most studies focus on primary polystyrene particles because they are easily manufactured and broadly available. However, whether these particles reflect real-life conditions is a matter of debate and they are certainly not representative of all types of plastic particles that can be found in the environment. Within microONE, we focus on production, characterization, identification and labelling of different microplastic particles, as reference particles as well as causative agents for pre-clinical experiments.
Services
Production and labelling of microplastic particles
Although microplastic particles are ubiquitous in the environment, reference particles for biomedical experiments are surprisingly hard to come by. Most studies available at the moment concentrate on the effects of spherical polystyrene particles because of their availability. The material scientists in microONE have set out to produce and provide true-to-life reference particles for as many plastic particles as possible. These particles are currently used in different projects, in native form or fluorescently and radioactively labelled, depending on the application, and will give us a more representative picture of the differential health effects of various microplastic particles.
Characterization of microplastic particles
Plastic is a wide umbrella term that includes a variety of different substances with different chemical compositions, sizes, shapes, surface structures, among others. Especially in the micro- and nanoscale, the size of particles determine for example their biological effects and likelihood for cellular uptake.
Therefore, well-characterized microplastic particles are essential for the generation of robust and reproducible data in biomedical microplastic research. Within microONE we have established a standard characterization pipeline that includes the determination of size distribution, zeta potential, morphological studies with electron microscopy, confirmation of sterility, and definition of the chemical composition via FTIR, and can be expanded depending on the application.
Detection, identification and quantification of microplastic particles
The detection and identification of microplastic particles is one of the bigger challenges in this emerging research field. Currently, in-house sampling devices, laborious and complex processing protocols as well as high-end analytical tools, such as OPTIR and Raman spectroscopy, are necessary to approximate the microplastic burden in the human body. A fast and widely available method to reliably identify and/or quantify microplastic particles is still an unmet need. At CBmed, we have gathered expertise in the sampling, processing and analysis of biomaterials including stool, urine, tissue samples and histological sections, to facilitate microplastic detection in human biospecimens. We have concentrated our multidisciplinary research efforts on advancing a high-throughput measurement technique.
Model systems to test biological effects of microplastic particles
In-vitro models
Cell culture is a crucial tool in pre-clinical research and delivers invaluable insights in the molecular mechanisms of a pathophysiological process. At CBmed, we have access to a broad variety of tumor-cell-lines and the necessary know-how to explore the effects of microplastic on a mechanistic level.
In addition, we also established a gut barrier model which makes it possible to study the ability of different microplastic particles to translocate through the gut barrier and enter the human body through the intestine. For more information on our gut barrier model, visit our section on microbiome research.
Our high-throughput compound screening platform enables us to evaluate broad panels of compounds, including microplastic particles, on cell lines or patient-derived tumor cells. Find more information on our screening platform.
In-vivo models
The effects of microplastic particles on organ systems, the distribution of particles within an organism, and the differential reactions to particles in health and disease can be effectively studied in animal models. In all our experiments, we are guided by the 3R guideline “Replace – Reduce – Refine”, we observe all regulatory requirements and hold ourselves to the highest standards in the care for our animals.
In-silico models
The interaction of microplastic particles with proteins, DNA, fatty acids and other biological substances determines their fate and behaviour within a living organism. With our high-end simulation, we can predict these interactions and gain insight into the journey of a plastic particle insight our body. Read all about the interactions between microplastic particles and the blood-brain-barrier in our publications.
Ex-vivo models
With our innovative model of the gut microbiome, we can test the effect of different types of microplastic particles on the human gut microbiome, and vice versa. Patient-derived microbial communities are isolated from stool samples, cultured over several days in a bioreactor-based model of the human gut microbiome and monitored with high-end multi-omics technologies. For more information, visit microbiome modelling.
microONE
Within the four distinct but interlinked projects of “microONE – Microplastics and Health”, we face these challenges head on in order to gain first insights into the interplay between microplastic pollution and colon cancer.