Microplastics: Can engineered enzymes remove microplastics from the human body?

By Paul Swartzendruber and Marc C. Deller
Backed by Michael Benny, Jun Penman, Guofeng Zhang, Alan Robbins, and Kathy Drake
Elora Therapeutics
Coppell, Texas
BiologyMedicine
$1,500
Pledged
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Funded
$60,000
Goal
21
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  • $1,500
    pledged
  • 3%
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  • 21
    days left

Human-Serum Validation of Engineered Enzymes for PET Microplastic Degradation

  • Serum time-course (37 °C): Incubate PET microplastics with engineered PET-degrading enzymes (PETase, MHETase) alongside controls (enzyme-only, plastic-only, serum blanks). Pre-define sampling times.
  • Quench & prep: Stop reactions and prepare extracts for analysis using standard lab procedures.
  • Chemistry readout (primary): Quantify PET breakdown products (TPA, MHET, BHET, EG) by HPLC/MS with external calibration, internal standards, and routine QC.
  • Particle counts (supportive): Pre/post microplastic particle enumeration (e.g., flow-imaging or filter-image methods) with size-bin summaries and bead/reference checks.
  • Polymer confirmation (confirmatory): O-PTIR (± FTIR/Raman) to corroborate PET identity and surface-chemistry changes.
  • Enzyme stability: Measure residual activity over time in serum.
  • Cell safety: HEK293 viability/cytotoxicity dose-response; include byproduct controls (terephthalic acid, ethylene glycol).
  • Reproducibility & analysis: Replicates across serum lots/days; pre-set acceptance criteria and a registered analysis plan (mixed-effects models). Go/no-go decisions tied to activity, stability, and safety outcomes.

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