Humans are exposed daily to a wide variety of hazardous agents, particularly through food. Exposure to natural microbial toxins is unavoidable, and recently, the presence of micro- and nano-plastics has also been confirmed in traditional and novel food sources.
In vitro toxicology offers a valuable platform to evaluate the impact of such contaminants using various cell-based assays. Furthermore, 3D-culture methods, which promote cell aggregation and vital intercellular communication, provide models that better mimic in vivo tissue architecture compared to conventional 2D cultures.
In this thesis project, live-cell imaging will be employed to monitor the growth and viability of 3D liver spheroids generated from HepG2 cells using a scaffold-free 3D Petri Dish system. Following spheroid formation, both single and combined toxicities of nanoplastics and natural toxins will be assessed, focusing on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. This model aims to enhance our understanding of the hepatotoxic potential of emerging and traditional food contaminants.
The project is aligned to UN's SGD:
