"Investigation of the Effects of Inhalation Exposure to Polyethylene Particles on the Redox State of Male Wistar Rats"

• Grant number: 23/17091-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: September 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Toxicology
• Principal Investigator: Juliana Elaine Perobelli
• Grantee: Manuela Vitória Bonfim Alcantara
• Host Institution: Instituto do Mar (IMar). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The growing anthropogenic activity of large-scale production and use of plastic materials, associated with inadequate disposal, as well as resistance to degradation and decomposition in general, has contributed to the creation of an unsustainable and worrying scenario of pollution. These plastic waste, when released into the environment, undergo several chemical and physical changes, which promote their breakdown, reducing the size of these plastic particles, which can generate microplastics (MPs) and, eventually, nanoplastics (NPs), increasing their accumulation in the environment and in organisms. MPs are plastic particles smaller than 5mm, while NPs are even smaller plastic particles, between 100 and 1,000 nanometers in size. MPs and NPs have also been associated with adverse effects on human health, since due to their small size, they can penetrate organs, the blood-brain and placental barriers, and cross cell membranes, with the main routes of exposure being ingestion, inhalation and contact with the skin. In general, these adverse effects are associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. Faced with the global problem of exposing the human population to plastic particles in micrometric and nanometric sizes, it is extremely important to investigate the real toxicological risk arising from this exposure, as well as elucidate potential target tissues and adverse effects. In this context, the present study will investigate the effects of acute exposure to increasing doses of polyethylene particles, via inhalation, on stress parameters and oxidative damage in the lungs and liver of adult male rats.