URIs_MOMENTUM_Research_and_Innovation_Magazine_Spring_2021_M

DETECTING THE EFFECTS OF NANO AND MICROPLASTICS IN THE HUMAN BODY

SHE HAS BEGUN TO CONSIDER HOW HER LAB’S MEDICAL INNOVATIONS COULD BE LEVERAGED TO DETECT, RESEARCH, AND MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF MICRO AND NANOPLASTICS IN THE HUMAN BODY.

Written by Allison Farrelly ’16

University of Rhode Island (URI) Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Jyothi Menon has spent much of her professional career advancing drug testing and delivery for lung diseases. Recently, however, she has begun to consider how her lab’s medical innovations could be leveraged to detect, research, and mitigate the effects of micro- and nanoplastics in the human body. From occupational exposure, to ingestion, to inhalation, “microplastics can be taken up by cells in the body and can have an inflammatory effect,” Menon, who is also an adjunct chemical engineering professor at the University, explained. “We have all the means in the lab to explore this.” One means is a revolutionary method of testing cellular responses to new drug therapies. Unconvinced by the efficacy of the traditional petri dish method of testing drug and cell interactions on a flat cell monolayer, Menon’s lab has been growing 3D tissue-engineered models that more accurately reflect the cellular structure and interaction of body tissue. “Research has shown that when drugs are given to a single layer of cells and to a 3D cell aggregate, the cells in both these models respond completely differently,” Menon said. Starting with a small sample of cells from, say, a piece of cancerous lung tissue, Menon is able to duplicate the cells and grow a more representative tissue model, which can be treated with drug therapies and responses observed. She initially began creating tissue models to test targeted drug delivery methods that she was developing to treat lung conditions. Menon thinks these models can also be used to examine what happens in the human body when cells interact with plastic particles. With her history of research in lung conditions, she’s particularly interested in the effects of inhaled plastics on the lungs, and developing ways to mitigate any effects through treatment. “I feel like being part of this research community is important in the sense that we are actually trying to find solutions to current issues,” Menon said. “Being able to make a contribution to that with my research is a very satisfying feeling.”

Photo by Jason Jaacks

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