A study conducted at the Translational Thoracic Oncology Laboratory has demonstrated for the first time that MNPs (microplastics and nanoplastics) can trigger malignant changes in lung cells that are associated with the development of cancer. The findings were published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.
As part of the study, the research team led by Karin Schelch, Balazs Döme, and Büsra Ernhofer (Translational Thoracic Oncology Laboratory) investigated how polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics (PS-MNPs) interact with different types of lung cells. Polystyrene is a widely used plastic found in everyday items such as food packaging and disposable products like yogurt containers and coffee-to-go cups.
The surprising result of the research: Healthy (non-malignant) lung cells absorb particularly small PS-MNP particles (0.00025 millimeters) significantly more than already malignant cancer cells – and respond with biological changes that once again highlight the health risks associated with MNP exposure.