Authors - Suramrit Kohli, Nikunj Parikh Abstract - Microplastics have been found in human plasma under various research studies, with 77% of the samples tested containing concentrations greater than 1,000 particles/litre. Microplastics are so small that they are able to pass through cell walls, and without a standardized clinical test for them, there is a heightened risk of inflammation, oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, haemolysis, and damage to the DNA. The aim of this proof-of-concept study was to test the feasibility of using PolyEthylene Glycol-coated chitosan Super Paramagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (PEG-chitosan SPIONs) to selectively capture and extract Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC) microplastics from blood-like solutions such as synthetic plasma Fetal Bovine Serum(FBS). The PEG-chitosan SPION approach was evaluated with respect to external magnetic dialysis and by measuring the efficiency with which they bound to and separated from PVC microplastics. The data demonstrated that PEG-chitosan SPIONs are highly effective in removing PVC microplastics from blood-like fluids with a decrease of 85.1% in turbidity and a reduction of 45.6% in the total contaminants present, while also capturing approximately 0.17 g of PVC microplastics within the SPION-PVC-microplastic mixture. These data suggest that PEG-chitosan SPIONs are able to bind and remove PVC microplastics efficiently and have considerable biocompatibility under in vitro conditions. These preliminary data will serve as a foundation for conducting future studies. The results suggest that magnetically assisted nano-separation systems hold promise for large-scale development of commercial microplastic removal options in the future.
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