# 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

> **NIH NIH R01** · RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $637,553

## Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 After decades of increasing production of and reliance upon plastic materials, six billion metric tons of
plastic waste has been deposited in our environment. Through environmental, commercial, and municipal
degradation processes all plastics are eventually fragmented into micro-nanometer scale plastic particles and
fibers known as micro-nanoplastics (MNPs). Consequently, MNPs have become a nearly ubiquitous
contaminant of our environment and food web, to the extent that concentrations of MNPs in meat, dairy,
seafood, and grains range from 10 to over 3,000 µg/mL. Yet little is known about the hazards of MNP ingestion
exposures. A major concern is the ability of ingested MNPs, demonstrated by a growing number of studies, to
reach the circulation and breach biological barriers to enter virtually any tissue. They have been found in
human blood (at up to 13 µg/mL), colectomy samples, and placenta, and a recent study in our lab showed that
MNPs ingested by pregnant rats reach the livers, hearts, lungs, kidneys, and brains of fetal pups within 24
hours. Yet the impacts of MNP ingestion on human health, including absorption, biodistribution, toxicity, and
inflammation remain unclear, constituting major knowledge gaps that impede any science-based risk
assessment of this emerging contaminant.
 To address these knowledge gaps, the proposed project, comprising three interconnected aims, will
assess toxicity, uptake, and biodistribution of environmentally relevant MNPs, and the roles of MNP properties
and intestinal inflammation in each. In Aim 1 we will develop and fully characterize 5 environmentally relevant
gold core – plastic shell MNPs of three major plastic polymers (polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and
polystyrene). The pristine core-shell MNPs will be photo-aged to simulate decades of environmental
exposures. The Au cores will enable accurate quantification of MNPs in cells and tissues, and intracellular
localization in Aims 2 and 3. In Aim 2 we will use a triculture small intestinal epithelium model and an “intestine-
on-chip” (IOC) model with organoids from both healthy donors and donors with inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD) coupled with simulated digestions to determine the role of iMNP physicochemical properties in iMNP
toxicity, inflammation, uptake, and translocation, and the role of inflammation in iMNP uptake and toxicity.
Specific molecular inhibitors and siRNA silencing will also be used to determine the cellular mechanisms
involved in MNP translocation. In Aim 3 we will assess in vivo MNP uptake, toxicity, biodistribution, and the role
of inflammation in each, in healthy and IBD-susceptible intestinal Hnf4a knockout mice. These studies will
provide validation and translational assessment of in vitro approaches as well as detailed data on iMNP organ
and tissue biodistribution.
 The data generated from these studies will allow health risk assessors and policymakers to assess the
potential risks of iMNP ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10996862
- **Project number:** 1R01ES036043-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Philip Demokritou
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $637,553
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-15 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10996862

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10996862, 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 (1R01ES036043-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10996862. Licensed CC0.

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