Project description
Nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging pollutants with a potential to affect both the environment and human health in an entirely new way due to their capability to cross cellular membranes. These small plastic particulates are already found in the environment, as well as in our drinking water and as of early 2022 in human blood. To date, however, there is a lack of reliable information on the particles size, shape, and their concentration in the different environmental matrixes to adequately investigate their toxicity. In this project we propose to mimic natural weathering process (mechanical friction, UV exposure, sonication, heat etc) to produce random nanoplastics that can be used to 1) develop analytical methods for the detection of nanoplastics in our environment and 2) test their toxicity on human cells.
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You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.