Session: 07-08-03: Biomedical Devices, Sensors, and Actuators III

Paper Number: 167025

A Lab-on-a-Filter Immunoassay for Detecting Polystyrene Microplastics 

Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic particles with a size range of less than 5 mm, have emerged as significant environmental and health concerns. Due to their small size, they can easily enter the food chain and human body, with potential consequences for human health, including blocking blood flow, inflammation, organ damage, and even carcinogenesis [1-3]. The exposure of MPs in human body is mainly by ingestion of food and drinks, inhale of contaminated air, infusion, leading to their circulation in the bloodstream [4-5]. The presence of MPs in blood highlights the urgent need for effective and reliable detection methods to assess human exposure. Currently, detection techniques, such as microscopy examination, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), are employed to identify MPs. However, microscopy examination is often not accurate to reflect the overall picture in the samples and it is also difficult to have quantitative results. On the other hand, the other methods, particularly pyrolysis GC-MS that is commonly used by researchers, are often time-consuming and require expensive, specialized equipment, limiting their practicality for large-scale or routine clinical analysis.

 

In this study, we developed an innovative and cost-effective lab-on-a-filter based immunoassay (LFI) for detecting polystyrene (PS)-MPs in buffer. Briefly, PS-MPs (2 µm) spiked phosphate buffer (PBS) were collected. The samples were subjected to pass through a 0.2 µm syringe filter, which was pre-blocked with gelatine (0.2%)-PBS solution. This filter allowed the collection of PS-MPs from PBS buffer. After extensive washing, Rabbit anti-PS serum, which was developed from our previous study [6], was then added to the filter and allowed to incubate with PS-MPs. The incubation process was followed by the addition of HRP conjugated goat anti-rabbit antibody. After washing, the TMB substrate was added to generate chromic signal. Scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and fluorescent results showed that the syringe filter can effectively harvest the PS-MPs beads. The preliminary results showed that the current LFI assay could achieve a limit of detection down to about 3000 particles in 1 mL PBS buffer. Additional experiment for PS-MPs particles with different particle sizes is undergoing. Assay selectivity will be tested among microparticles with different materials. With these results, we will then be working in detection of spiked PS-MS from human blood samples, where whole blood samples will be subjected to pretreatment, including red blood lysis and purification. It is expected this LFI method will provide a versatile tool for detecting MPs from clinical and environmental samples.

 

References:

1.     Cheng, Y., Yang, Y., Bai, L., & Cui, J. (2024). Microplastics: an often-overlooked issue in the transition from chronic inflammation to cancer. Journal of Translational Medicine, 22(1), 959.

2.     Li, B., Ding, Y., Cheng, X., Sheng, D., Xu, Z., Rong, Q., ... & Zhang, Y. (2020). Polyethylene microplastics affect the distribution of gut microbiota and inflammation development in mice. Chemosphere, 244, 125492.

3.     Mallapaty, S. (2025). Microplastics block blood flow in the brain, mouse study reveals. Nature, 638(8049), 20-20.

4.     Li, Y., Tao, L., Wang, Q., Wang, F., Li, G., & Song, M. (2023). Potential health impact of microplastics: a review of environmental distribution, human exposure, and toxic effects. Environment & Health, 1(4), 249-257.

5.     Zhu, L., Ma, M., Sun, X., Wu, Z., Yu, Y., Kang, Y., ... & An, L. (2023). Microplastics entry into the blood by infusion therapy: few but a direct pathway. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 11(2), 67-72.

6.     Cao, L., Zeng, X., & Lin, J. (2023). Generation of polystyrene-specific antibodies for developing immunoassays to analyze microplastics and nanoplastics. Chemical Engineering Journal, 465, 14284

Presenting Author: Longyan Chen Gannon University

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Longyan Chen is an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical, Industrial & Systems Engineering at Gannon University, Erie, PA.

Authors:

Robe Deresse Terfa Gannon University
Liu Cao Gannon University
Jun Lin University of Tennessee
Nardos Filimona Bisrat Gannon University
Longyan Chen Gannon University