In this webinar, Assoc. Prof. Oxana Klementieva (Lund University) will present new findings based on her recent paper: Polystyrene nanoplastic exposure promotes amyloid misfolding and metabolic impairment at sublethal doses. A subcellular infrared imaging study
This research shows how 200nm polystyrene NPs can induce protein misfolding and impair cellular metabolism. Using submicron IR (Optical Photothermal Infrared, O-PTIR) spectroscopy, this work visualizes nanoscale biochemical changes inside cells without labels or dyes, revealing how nanoplastics act as active interfaces that alter function and protein structure, which is implicated in some neurodegenerative diseases.
The session includes a brief overview of submicron IR (O-PTIR) spectroscopy and application examples demonstrating how O-PTIR enables direct, label-free mapping of MPs/NPs and biomolecular changes in complex biological systems.
What you will learn
- How NPs drive protein misfolding and amyloid-like changes
- How sub-lethal exposure impacts cellular metabolism
- How O-PTIR maps protein structure inside cells at submicron resolution
- How particle–protein interactions can be directly observed in situ
Who should attend
- Micro- and nanoplastics researchers
- Toxicologists and health scientists
- Neurodegeneration and protein aggregation researchers
- Cell biologists and spectroscopy users