The risks of micro- and nanoplastic particles
As part of the EU project Imptox, an international research team investigates the role of micro- and nanoplastics in human health, with a particular focus on the respiratory tract. The team members are Lea Ann Dailey from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Vienna.
How much plastic can the human body tolerate?
Therefore, the researchers working on the Imptox project primarily aim to investigate whether micro- and nanoplastics attract allergens, in particular protein components. If so, they want to find out whether this actually increases the allergenic potential. Moreover, Lea Ann Dailey will examine whether microplastics reaching the respiratory tract can influence the allergenic potential of certain components of pollen.
The researcher is not yet able to assess the actual effects of circulating micro- and nanoplastics on human health: "As a society, we can only assess the risks associated with microplastics once we know exactly how much plastic the human body is exposed to and where this plastic deposits. And this is, in turn, closely related to the following important question that my team and I are investigating in our sub-project: What is 'attached' to the plastic we inhale?" (td)