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MICROPLASTICS

The Trojan Horse Effect

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A collaborative seminar by iGEM VIT and iGEM Patras

3rd June 2023

7 PM IST/3:30 PM CET

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In this session, we’ll briefly talk about-

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I. The Cancer Conundrum and an introduction to iGEM Patras’ project this year

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II. The Carcinogenicity of Microplastics

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III. The Trojan Horse Effect of Microplastics

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The Cancer Conundrum and an introduction to iGEM Patras’ project this year

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Carcinogenicity of Microplastics

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  1. Chemical makeup - plasticisers like phthalates
  2. Carcinogens adsorbed onto microplastics - PAHs, POPs
  3. Small size - easily engulfed by a variety of animals.
  4. ROS generation in cells, membrane damage - activation of cancer/cell proliferation pathways

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Microplastics in Cell Lines

Oxidative stress

Inflammation

Genotoxicity

Cellular

Disruption

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(Yu et al., 2022)

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Increased cell damage

Photo-transformed microplastics

Increased Lactate Dehydrogenase level

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The Trojan Horse Effect of Microplastics

Microplastics

Microplastics loaded with environmental pollutants

Comparison of transport distance of microplastics with environmental pollutants and only environmental pollutants

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The Trojan Horse Effect of Microplastics

Cell lines and associated MP toxicity(Danopoulos et al., 2022)

Adsorption mechanism of MPs involve the following interactions (Sun et al., 2023)

  • Hydrogen bonding
  • Hydrophobic Interaction
  • Electrostatic attraction/repulsion
  • π-π interaction effect
  • Van der Waals forces

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Case Study: Pb and MP

(Kinigopoulou et al., 2022)

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Fighting The Trojan Horse Effect of Microplastics

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  1. Microbial Degradation
  2. Enzymatic Approaches
  3. Phytoremediation
  4. Biostimulation and Bioaugmentation
  5. Bioengineering

a. Bioplastics

b. Microbial Sensors

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iGEM 2023 - OUR IDEA

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  • FAST-PETase + MHETase.
  • The unique aspect of our approach is that we'll be employing a modified form of PETase dubbed FAST-PETase (functional, active, stable, and tolerant PETase), which was developed with the use of machine learning-aided engineering.
  • One of the most important environmental issues of our day, PET microplastic contamination.
  • Our team intends to deploy a special combination of enzymes - FAST PETase and a better version of MHETase - to efficiently digest Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic waste.

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PET

MHET

BHET

Terephthalic acid

Ethylene glycol

PETases

PETases

MHETases

MHETases

PETase-Degrading Mechanism

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References

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Danopoulos, E., Twiddy, M., West, R., & Rotchell, J. M. (2022). A rapid review and meta-regression analyses of the toxicological impacts of microplastic exposure in human cells. Journal of hazardous materials, 427, 127861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127861

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Kinigopoulou, V., Pashalidis, I., Kalderis, D., & Anastopoulos, I. (2022a). Microplastics as carriers of Inorganic and organic contaminants in the environment: A review of recent progress. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 350, 118580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2022.118580

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Sun, N., Shi, H., Li, X., Gao, C., & Liu, R. (2023). Combined toxicity of micro/nanoplastics loaded with environmental pollutants to organisms and cells: Role, effects, and mechanism. Environment international, 171, 107711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107711

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Yu, X., Lang, M., Huang, D., Yang, C., Ouyang, Z., & Guo, X. (2022). Photo-transformation of microplastics and its toxicity to Caco-2 cells. The Science of the total environment, 806(Pt 4), 150954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150954

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