Quantification of Polystyrene Uptake by Different Cell Lines Using Fluorescence Microscopy and Label-Free Visualization of Intracellular Polystyrene Particles by Raman Microspectroscopic Imaging

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Abstract
Environmental pollution caused by plastic is a present problem. Polystyrene is a widely used packaging material (e.g., Styrofoam) that can be broken down into microplastics through abrasion. Once the plastic is released into the environment, it is dispersed by wind and atmospheric dust. In this study, we investigated the uptake of polystyrene particles into human cells using A549 cells as a model of the alveolar epithelial barrier, CaCo-2 cells as a model of the intestinal epithelial barrier, and THP-1 cells as a model of immune cells to simulate a possible uptake of microplastics by inhalation, oral uptake, and interaction with the cellular immune system, respectively. The uptake of fluorescence-labeled beads by the different cell types was investigated by confocal laser scanning microscopy in a semi-quantitative, concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, we used Raman spectroscopy as a complementary method for label-free qualitative detection and the visualization of polystyrene within cells. The uptake of polystyrene beads by all investigated cell types was detected, while the uptake behavior of professional phagocytes (THP-1) differed from that of adherent epithelial cells.
Funding Information
  • BMBF (LPI-BT4 Leibniz-IPHT 13N15713, LPI-BT4 UKJ 13N15716, FKZ 01EO1502, FKZ IZN 2018 0002, 2018 IZN 0003, 316213987, project A05 and Z project)
  • German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (LPI-BT4 Leibniz-IPHT 13N15713, LPI-BT4 UKJ 13N15716, FKZ 01EO1502, FKZ IZN 2018 0002, 2018 IZN 0003, 316213987, project A05 and Z project)
  • Thüringer Innovationszentrum für Medizintechnik-Lösungen (ThIMEDOP) (LPI-BT4 Leibniz-IPHT 13N15713, LPI-BT4 UKJ 13N15716, FKZ 01EO1502, FKZ IZN 2018 0002, 2018 IZN 0003, 316213987, project A05 and Z project)
  • German Research Foundation (DFG) (LPI-BT4 Leibniz-IPHT 13N15713, LPI-BT4 UKJ 13N15716, FKZ 01EO1502, FKZ IZN 2018 0002, 2018 IZN 0003, 316213987, project A05 and Z project)

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