There is increasing concern about the effect of microplastic pollution. Microplastics are small fragments of plastic, less than 5 mm in size. Microplastics formed under realistic conditions span a wide size range, from nanometers to millimeters. In recent times, such materials have been detected in a wide range of bodily fluids, attesting to their persistence in our environment. Therefore, understanding the effect of microplastics on cellular function is of importance. This project will involve preparing microplastics from common commercial polymers (such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and polyesters) and their thorough characterization. One aspect of this project will be to come up with a protocol to generate fluorescently tagged microplastics to allow them to be tracked as they are ingested by cells. Subsequently, cells will be exposed to these microplastics and their response will be studied. This project is primarily experimental. The student will have the opportunity to learn a wide variety of characterization techniques (including electron microscopy, confocal laser microscopy, light and Xray scattering, FTIR spectroscopy and molecular biology techniques). The student will also be expected to take some courses on polymer physics and biology of the cell.
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