Probing Size-Dependent Cytotoxicity of Polypropylene/Polyethylene Microparticles Fabricated via Premix Membrane Emulsification

The increasing prevalence of microparticles of such commodity plastics as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) in ecosystems has raised concerns about their potential environmental and health impacts. For deeper understanding, it is required to correlate the type and size of microplastic particles with their toxicity. Herein, we investigated the cytotoxic effects of PE and PP microparticles. By employing the premix membrane emulsification technique, we successfully fabricated PE and PP microplastic particles with the size distributions suitable for probing their size effects. The resulting particles were further sorted using test sieves to attain size-controlled PE and PP microplastic particles. With variations in the type, size, and concentration of the microparticles, in-vitro cytotoxicity was assessed using A549 lung carcinoma cells. Our findings suggest that the type, size, and concentration significantly influence cell viability, with PP, smaller sizes, and higher concentrations exhibiting more pronounced cytotoxic effects. The study contributes to research on the consequences of commodity microplastic particles interacting with biological systems, emphasizing the need to consider various parameters of microparticles when assessing their environmental and health risks.