Microplastic Effects on Thrombin-Fibrinogen Clotting Dynamics Measured via Turbidity

Background/Hypothesis:Widespread use of plastic has created a world where exposure to microplastics is inevitable leading their presence in our circulatory system. This raises questions about impact on thrombosis. Aminated polystyrene (aPS) plastics have been shown increase platelet aggregation and thrombus formation animal models. Given this, we hypothesized that aPS administration will the rate fibrin clot simple thrombin-fibrinogen model.
 Project Methods:We evaluated how concentrations 25-200 μg/mL 100 nm particles affect using turbidity assays. To determine effect surface charge, experiments were also performed with non-modified (nPS) particles. Microplastics pre-incubated either physiological fibrinogen or thrombin was measured at 405 every 10 seconds over 45-minutes. Clotting parameters such as maximum (TurbMax), time 90% (TurbTime), (Vmax) determined compared controls without microplastics.
 Results:When increasing preincubated fibrinogen, there less than 2-fold change Vmax, TurbMax, TurbTime. When nPS thrombin, up 27-fold decrease 2.4-fold 4.36-fold TurbTime control. Whereas preincubation resulted 1.86-fold 1.63-fold 2.30-fold TurbTime.
 Potential Impact:In this simplified clotting model, it surprising find inhibitory effects they more pronounced aPS. However, these results align prothrombin observed literature Therefore, future studies complex models need be before claims can made