Evaluation of the potentiating effect of polystyrene microparticles on the toxicity of acrylamide and ethanol under conditions of combined treatment of mouse hepatocyte cell culture MH-22a

Introduction. Microparticles of polymer compounds are common in the environment. polystyrene particles are the most common types of microplastics. The most interesting subject of the study is the assessment of the potentiating properties of microplastics on the manifestations of toxicity of common substances entering the body by alimentary means, primarily such as acrylamide and ethanol. Materials and methods. The experimental work was performed on a cell culture of mouse MH-22a hepatocytes in compliance with the principles of working with mammalian cell cultures. An MTT test was used to study cell viability by respiratory activity. The statistical analysis was performed in the SPSS Statistics 21 software. Results. The article presents the results of an experimental study of the respiratory activity of cells under combined treatment with 300 nm polystyrene microparticles at a concentration of 0.025% with acrylamide and ethanol. Preliminary experimental data is presented to substantiate the selected concentration of the microplastic under study, demonstrating its low acute cytotoxicity. The calculated IC50 values for cell survival for acrylamide and ethanol under single exposure and combined exposure with polystyrene microparticles for 24 hours had insignificant differences. Limitations. The study was performed on a cell culture of mouse MH-22a hepatocytes (monolayer) cultured in accordance with the requirements of the culture passport and treated with 300 nm polystyrene microparticles and their mixtures with acrylamide and ethanol only for 24 hours in microplate format. Conclusion. A comparative analysis of survival values when exposed to toxic substances without addition and in the presence of microplastics revealed no significant differences between cell groups, which at the moment did not allow detecting the potentiating effect of polystyrene microparticles with a size of 300 nm on the toxicity of acrylamide and ethanol under 24-hour combined treatment.