MEchanical sTABility Of phosphoLIpids bilayerS in the presence of Microplastics

In recent years, the number of microplastics (plastic particles smaller than 5 mm) in the environment has exploded and is expected to continue to increase in the coming years. They are now found in the air we breathe, in drinkable water, in food and even in human blood or organs.

Unfortunately, this pollution issue is accentuated by the environmental contamination with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS), known as ""forever chemicals"" and linked to cancer problems. These chemicals are also found everywhere, up to the human body and tend to adsorb on plastics.

However, the understanding of the interaction of PFAS or microplastics with complex shapes, sizes and chemical compositions on living systems is missing.

METABOLISM seeks therefore at adapting physicochemical and biophysical techniques and models to understand the adsorption/attachment of these systems, the stretching dynamics and the unzipping mechanism of lipid bilayers, mimicking cell membranes in the presence of contaminants.

The project aims at developing an integrated platform to simultaneously image and measure the stress distribution within the bilayers and the adhesion forces at play, in order to quantify the dysfunction of the cell machinery.

The stability of lung cells will also be probed to have new insight into the damaging induced by pollution on relevant living systems.

Gaining understanding about this problematic will provide important new knowledge on the impact of contaminants on health and highlight the need to improve remediation strategies.