Accumulation of styrene oligomers alters lipid membrane phase order and miscibility.

ABSTRACT: Growth of plastic waste in the natural environment, and in particular in the oceans, has raised the accumulation of polystyrene and other polymeric species in eukyarotic cells to the level of a credible and systemic threat. Oligomers, the smallest products of polymer degradation or incomplete polymerization reactions, are the first species to leach out of macroscopic or nanoscopic plastic materials. However, the fundamental mechanisms of interaction between oligomers and polymers with the different cell components are yet to be elucidated. Simulations performed on lipid bilayers showed changes in membrane mechanical properties induced by polystyrene, but experimental results performed on cell membranes or on cell membrane models are still missing. We focus here on understanding how embedde

SUBMITTER: Morandi MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7848699 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature