Multimethod detection of brain micro- and nanoplastics in Alzheimer’s disease
Official title: Multimethod Detection of Micro- and Nanoplastics in Multiple Brain Regions: Associations with Alzheimer’s Disease and Environmental Exposure Risk
Funded at Arizona State University-Tempe Campus · NIH-11387111 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will look for tiny plastic particles in human brains and see how they relate to Alzheimer’s disease and neighborhood-level environmental risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Arizona State University-Tempe Campus NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Scottsdale, United States) |
| Project start | May 15, 2026 |
| Project end | May 14, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $430,625 |
| NIH project number | 1R21ES038336-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11387111 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are individuals whose brain tissue can be analyzed postmortem, including those with and without Alzheimer’s pathology.
✕Less likely to help
Living patients will not directly participate in procedures in this postmortem study.
What this research studies
This study will examine brain tissue from 140 individuals to measure micro- and nanoplastics in the olfactory bulb and middle temporal gyrus using five advanced methods. It will analyze how the amount of plastics relates to Alzheimer’s pathology while accounting for age, sex, APOE genotype, and tissue preservation factors. An exploratory part will test whether socioeconomic disadvantage, as measured by the Area Deprivation Index, influences plastic burden in the brain. The approach combines environmental toxicology with detailed brain pathology to explore a possible environmental contribution to neurodegeneration.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could illuminate environmental factors that influence Alzheimer’s pathology and identify at-risk populations based on exposure context.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary data have detected MNPs in human brains, but the large-scale, multi-method approach is novel and unproven in AD brains.
Where this research is happening
-
Arizona State University-Tempe Campus
Scottsdale, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mastroeni, Diego F — Arizona State University-Tempe Campus
- Study coordinator: Mastroeni, Diego F
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.