Scientists Discover Why Microplastics Trigger Inflammation (scientificamerican.com) 17
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Scientific American: Microplastics are a source of extreme concern for health: the presence of these tiny pieces of plastic has been linked to heart attacks, stroke, dementia and brain tumors. But what drives these associations is unclear. Now a study published in Nature offers a tantalizing clue: microplastics interact with water, generating highly reactive molecules. When microplastics come into contact with water, the water near their surface can become chemically active, generating highly reactive species that can modify nearby substances, including biologically important molecules.
As plastics wear down to microscopic sizes, their surface-to-volume ratio increases dramatically. For example, when a credit card is fragmented into particles some 10 microns in diameter, there is a more than 200-fold increase in its surface area, says Wei Min, a chemist at Columbia University and one of the senior authors of the study. As a result, any chemical activity is amplified. Min and his colleagues examined various microplastics -- including polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate. Plastic surfaces are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water, Min says. Thus, water molecules cannot form the hydrogen bonds they maintain in liquid form. That changes molecular arrangements, and, in turn, the change influences the local electrical environment and chemical reactivity.
The presumed chemical inertness of bulk plastics overlooks the toxicity of their fragmented microscale forms. "For microplastics, this is especially important because fragmentation creates enormous amounts of new surface area," Min says. In past research, microplastics have been shown to cause inflammation, oxidative stress and decreased mitochondrial activity. The new study provides a possible mechanism for this, showing that plastic-water interfaces can perturb proteins, cell membranes, and more. How this might contribute to damage in living tissues in humans is still unclear, Min says. "Ultimately, we hope to connect fundamental interfacial chemistry with quantitative measurements of biological effects, which would help us better understand potential health risks," he adds.
As plastics wear down to microscopic sizes, their surface-to-volume ratio increases dramatically. For example, when a credit card is fragmented into particles some 10 microns in diameter, there is a more than 200-fold increase in its surface area, says Wei Min, a chemist at Columbia University and one of the senior authors of the study. As a result, any chemical activity is amplified. Min and his colleagues examined various microplastics -- including polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate. Plastic surfaces are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water, Min says. Thus, water molecules cannot form the hydrogen bonds they maintain in liquid form. That changes molecular arrangements, and, in turn, the change influences the local electrical environment and chemical reactivity.
The presumed chemical inertness of bulk plastics overlooks the toxicity of their fragmented microscale forms. "For microplastics, this is especially important because fragmentation creates enormous amounts of new surface area," Min says. In past research, microplastics have been shown to cause inflammation, oxidative stress and decreased mitochondrial activity. The new study provides a possible mechanism for this, showing that plastic-water interfaces can perturb proteins, cell membranes, and more. How this might contribute to damage in living tissues in humans is still unclear, Min says. "Ultimately, we hope to connect fundamental interfacial chemistry with quantitative measurements of biological effects, which would help us better understand potential health risks," he adds.
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You seem pretty toxic and inflammatory yourself.
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Do you even know what "toxin people" are?
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Do you even know what "toxin people" are?
It's more than one tox person
If the molecules are reactive... (Score:2)
... does this perhaps mean they can react with the plastic itself and slowly break it down chemically?
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Anyone notice how just about everything is worse? (Score:2, Interesting)
And now we are stuffed full of microplastics that make us hurt and we have a massive automation push coming to tear through the job market or what's left of it.
I think this is going to be the first generation that gets le
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Not the first. There have been several, depending on what measure you use.
Re: Anyone notice how just about everything is wor (Score:5, Insightful)
Everything is better. We have hand held supercomputers with screens with more than 8 colors. We have drugs that can cure cancer, we have cars that are like ... amazing, we have satellite internet, we have more food, better weather, longer lives, friends we have never met, andor, expanse, life is better than ever
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Credit Card (Score:4, Funny)
For example, when a credit card is fragmented into particles some 10 microns in diameter, there is a more than 200-fold increase in its surface area,
I'll have to see if experimental results confirm this analysis. "Honey. Could I please have your credit cards? For science."
BS meter pegged. (Score:3)
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Oh well in that case it must be fake then, if it has triggered your BS meter, whatever it is that you haven't even bothered to read
I'm certain there is nothing to do with being miffed that you had not thought of it yourself.