Nanoplastics. A Systematic Risk Analysis for Human Health, Ecosystems, and the Environment

The relevance of the study is driven by the unprecedented global accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in the biosphere and the change of their physicochemical properties as they transition to micro- and nano size. Upon fragmentation, synthetic polymers cease to be merely inert macro-waste and acquire the properties of dispersed, physicochemically active particles, for which the role of specific surface area, adsorption capacity, interfacial interactions, and electrokinetic characteristics increases. This enhances the likelihood of their interaction with biological barriers, biomolecules, cells, and tissues.

The study's methodology is based on a systemic interdisciplinary analysis of current experimental, clinical, toxicological, and epidemiological data. The report examines the physicochemical and electrophysiological properties of MNPs, including the role of the ζ-potential, surface charge, electrical architecture, and the “soft particle” model, as well as the mechanisms of their interaction with molecular structures, cells, organs, and ecosystems.

The analysis results indicate that MNPs are capable of interfering with fundamental mechanisms of cellular regulation. In various models, their interaction with biomolecules and membranes is associated with the formation of a protein corona, changes in the interfacial properties of particles, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired barrier functions, and inflammatory reactions. At the system level, this is linked to risks of destabilizing the gut-brain axis, neurobiological and cardiovascular disorders, reproductive and embryotoxic effects, as well as a potential contribution to oncogenic processes. Additionally, it has been shown that traditional methods of plastic waste management may be accompanied by further polymer fragmentation and the formation of secondary emissions.

The primary conclusion of the study is that micro- and nanoplastics should be regarded as a new class of anthropogenic particles with potentially significant biophysical and ecological activity. An effective response to this challenge requires a transition from a predominantly mechanical logic of environmental remediation toward a strategy that combines the reduction of fine fraction emissions, the development of comparable monitoring, the study of the surface and electrokinetic properties of particles—including the question of their possible internal charge architecture—and the development of physical and biophysical approaches to reducing their harmful interactions with living systems.