Exploring the Fourth Route of Micro- and Nanoplastic Exposure from Cardiovascular Devices through Physicochemical Studies of Polymer–BiologicalInterfaces
ProgettoMicro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) detected in the human body have so far been mainly associated with exposure pathways, including ingestion, inhalation,and dermal contact. However, a fourth and largely unexplored exposure route may arise from the direct release of plastic particulates from medical devices,both implanted and extracorporeal. Cardiovascular devices represent a particularly relevant system due to the widespread and long-term use of plastic-based materials under continuous physiological flow conditions. In Italy alone, more than 300,000 cardiovascular procedures involving polymer-containingdevices are performed annually, while tens of thousands of patients carry implanted devices for years or decades. Despite the extensive polymer–biologicalinterface generated by cardiovascular medicine, the physicochemical processes governing material degradation and particle generation remain largelyunexplored.
PULSE aims to establish a fundamental physicochemical framework describing the behaviour of plastic-derived fragments generated at polymer–biologicalinterfaces under physiological flow conditions. Preliminary evidence suggests that shear stress and biofluid interactions can induce material degradation andrelease micro- and nanoscale particulates. Unlike conventional human exposure studies, often limited by low sample volumes, contamination risks, andheterogeneous particle populations, medical devices offer a unique experimental opportunity: controlled laboratory conditions, reproducible flow systems,large particle yields, and full analytical traceability of the originating material. These features enable robust analytical, metrological, and physicochemicalinvestigation of medically derived MNPs and associated molecular degradation products and additives (MDPAs). The project is structured around threeinterconnected levels of investigation. First, it will explore the material-side processes governing particle release, including surface degradation, crackformation, and physicochemical alterations at the device interface after fragment detachment. Second, it will investigate the released fragments themselves,treating them as dynamic interfacial entities capable of interacting with proteins, lipids, platelets, and other biological components under flow. Third, theproject will investigate what blood and vascular cells actually “see” in terms of cyto- and hemocompatibility when exposed to these materials, including notonly medically derived particulates but also degradation-derived species such as additives, oligomers, residual monomers, and low-molecular-weightpolymer fragments, forming complex interfacial mixtures whose interactions with biological systems remain largely unexplored.
By integrating materials science, interfacial and analytical chemistry, PULSE will define a new class of in situ-generated plastic entities in the human body,establishing a new paradigm in MNP research and human exposure science.
PULSE aims to establish a fundamental physicochemical framework describing the behaviour of plastic-derived fragments generated at polymer–biologicalinterfaces under physiological flow conditions. Preliminary evidence suggests that shear stress and biofluid interactions can induce material degradation andrelease micro- and nanoscale particulates. Unlike conventional human exposure studies, often limited by low sample volumes, contamination risks, andheterogeneous particle populations, medical devices offer a unique experimental opportunity: controlled laboratory conditions, reproducible flow systems,large particle yields, and full analytical traceability of the originating material. These features enable robust analytical, metrological, and physicochemicalinvestigation of medically derived MNPs and associated molecular degradation products and additives (MDPAs). The project is structured around threeinterconnected levels of investigation. First, it will explore the material-side processes governing particle release, including surface degradation, crackformation, and physicochemical alterations at the device interface after fragment detachment. Second, it will investigate the released fragments themselves,treating them as dynamic interfacial entities capable of interacting with proteins, lipids, platelets, and other biological components under flow. Third, theproject will investigate what blood and vascular cells actually “see” in terms of cyto- and hemocompatibility when exposed to these materials, including notonly medically derived particulates but also degradation-derived species such as additives, oligomers, residual monomers, and low-molecular-weightpolymer fragments, forming complex interfacial mixtures whose interactions with biological systems remain largely unexplored.
By integrating materials science, interfacial and analytical chemistry, PULSE will define a new class of in situ-generated plastic entities in the human body,establishing a new paradigm in MNP research and human exposure science.