eohsi news and announcements

Congratulations to Philip Demokritou, Ph.D. and Michael Verzi, Ph.D.!

August 1, 2024

NAMC has just received the notice of award from NIH/NIEHS for a new five year project titled “Intestinal uptake, translocation, biodistribution, and toxicity of ingested environmentally relevant micro-nanoplastics (MNPs) and the role of inflammation using advanced cellular and in vivo models”

Prof Philip Demokritou (Project PI), Director of Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Center (NAMC) in a statement mentioned that “ Micronanoplastics (MNPs), a by-product of the environmental degradation of plastics across their life cycle, have emerged as a potential health hazard of epic proportions. MNPs are everywhere, in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Public health assessors are in urgent need  of solid  data based on environmentally relevant MNPs and bioactivity. This project aims to assess the MNP impact in the gut and other organs, especially for susceptible populations with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)”.

This new grant supplements ongoing research activities in the MNP space in the NAMC center and will solidify the center’s leading role at the National and International level in this area. It also expands the collaborations across Rutgers and the  Rutgers Department of Genetics and Prof. Michael Verzi (Co-PI) and his team, an expert on metabolic diseases in the GI tract.

PROJECT NARRATIVE

With more than 6 trillion kilograms of plastic waste produced to date, micro and nano scale plastic particles and fibers (micro-nanoplastics or MNPs), which  are the byproduct of environmental  and industrial processes have become a ubiquitous and growing contaminant of our environment, food, air and water. Using environmentally relevant MNPs and advanced cellular intestinal and experimental animal models, the proposed study will assess the potential health hazards of ingested MNPs, including 1) their toxicity in the intestine, 2) the extent of their uptake by the intestine and cellular mechanisms that drive uptake, 3) the organs and tissues to which MNPs, once they are taken up by the intestine and enter the circulation, are subsequently distributed, 4) the roles that the plastic type/chemistry (e.g., polyethylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate), size, and MNP properties play in their uptake and toxicity, and 5) the impact of MNPs on intestinal inflammation and the role of inflammation in toxicity and uptake of MNPs. The results of these studies will help risk assessors and policy makers assess the risks of MNP ingestion, provide the basis and rationale for regulatory action, and will open new areas of research in toxicology and epidemiology for this emerging and novel pollutant.