Growth of plastic waste in the natural environment, and in particular in the oceans, has raised the accumulation of polystyrene and other polymeric species in eukyarotic cells to the level of a credible and systemic threat. Oligomers, the smallest products of polymer degradation or incomplete polymerization reactions, are the first species to leach out of macroscopic or nanoscopic plastic materials. However, the fundamental mechanisms of interaction between oligomers and polymers with the different cell components are yet to be elucidated. Simulations performed on lipid bilayers showed changes in membrane mechanical properties induced by polystyrene, but experimental results performed on cell membranes or on cell membrane models are still missing. We focus here on understanding how embedded styrene oligomers affect the phase behavior of model membranes using a combination of scattering, fluorescence, and calorimetric techniques. Our results show that styrene oligomers disrupt the phase behavior of lipid membranes, modifying the thermodynamics of the transition through a spatial modulation of lipid composition.

自然环境中，特别是海洋中塑料废物的增长，使聚苯乙烯和其他聚合物在真核细胞中的积累达到了可信的系统性威胁的水平。低聚物是聚合物降解或不完全聚合反应的最小产物，是第一个从宏观或纳米塑料材料中浸出的物质。然而，低聚物和聚合物与不同细胞成分之间相互作用的基本机制尚未阐明。对脂质双层进行的模拟显示聚苯乙烯引起的膜机械性能的变化，但对细胞膜或细胞膜模型进行的实验结果仍然缺失。我们在这里重点了解嵌入的苯乙烯低聚物如何使用散射、荧光和量热技术的组合影响模型膜的相行为。我们的结果表明，苯乙烯低聚物破坏了脂质膜的相行为，通过脂质成分的空间调节来改变转变的热力学。