The Problem

The release of consumer-use plastics into the environment has already caused detrimental effects to our planet. However, the occurring fragmentation of these plastics down to plastic nanoparticles is quickly becoming a new and difficult challenge due to its further negative effects.

The Earth is facing a more complex plastic pollution problem - formation and spreading of small plastic fragments, invisible to the naked eye. To act on them, it is crucial to detect them.

Where Is Nanoplastic Found?

In water

In aquatic animal organisms

In human blood

In food

Current Nanoplastic Detection Tools

Recent attempts to detect plastic nanoparticles relied on expensive optical equipment and highly-trained experts, making it difficult to implement worldwide.

Equipment heavy

Expensive

Labor heavy

NanoFind

The aim of our project is to create an easy-to-use detection system for nanoplastics based on interactions between polymer-binding peptides and plastic nanoparticles.The detection strategy will result in formation of sandwich-like complexes upon interactions between fusion peptides and plastic nanoparticles. The lower fusion peptides have an additional cellulose-binding domain which allows them to accommodate a high number of peptides on the testing surface. The upper fusion peptides are fluorescent-labelled, therefore they are able to provide an easy to interpret, light-based result.The results can be easily read using a microplate reader. The fluorescent output allows a crude estimation of the abundance of different nanoplastics present in the solution.

Future perspectives

With the development of "NanoFind", a first easy-to-use detection tool for nanoplastics, we are seeking to lead the path to further research and advancement in plastic pollution. Furthermore, because of easy expansion of our system to different plastics, we are hoping that “NanoFind” will act as a base system for future detection approaches.

We hope that "NanoFind" will provide a better understanding of the current situation in regards to the global spread of plastic fragments and their impact on humanity and wildlife.