Various chemical additives are added to polymers, materials composed of high-molecular-weight compounds, to modify and improve the properties for diverse plastic applications. In most instances, these additives are not chemically bound to the polymer matrix and can leach from the materials, posing a threat to human health. Extensive studies have identified that many plastic additives, such as phthalates, bisphenols, and melamine, are highly hazardous. However, current studies provide little quantifiable information on human exposure to plastic additives through different pathways and the possible health effects caused by this exposure.
Human biomonitoring has become a “gold standard” in assessing chemical exposures and plays an important role in health risk assessment. By identifying which plastic additives people are exposed to and the subsequent health effects on the human body, a link can be established between plastic additive exposure and potential alterations in human health. Oxidative stress has been implicated in various chronic diseases (e.g., cancers and diabetes) and biological effect associated with environmental contaminant exposure. It was characterised by an overproduction of reactive oxygen species in relation to antioxidant defence. Urinary oxidative stress biomarkers (OSBs), derived from oxidative damage to cellular molecules, are relatively stable and can be measured invasively, making them attractive tools for clinical and epidemiological studies.
Therefore, this project aims to develop methods to comprehensively analyse urinary OSBs that can reflect nucleic acid, protein, lipid, glycoxidation damages. By applying these methods, together with the methods for assessing biomarkers of plastic additive exposure, this project will investigate the short-term variability of urinary OSBs and their associations with plastic additive exposure in real-world scenarios.
Conference Abstract
Cheng, Y., Zammit, I., Eaglesham, G., Prasad, P., Que, D.E., Jekimovs, L., Liu, Y., Symeonides, C., Dunlop, S., Vilcins, D. & Wang, X. Measuring urinary oxidative stress biomarkers: free and conjugated, The Society for Redox Research Australasia (SFRRA) Hybrid Research Symposium 2025, Brisbane, Australia, 8 December 2025.
Cheng, Y., Zammit, I., Vilcins, D., Eaglesham, G., Prasad, P., Que, D.E., Liu, Y., Mueller, J.F. & Wang, X. Profiling of free and conjugated oxidative stress biomarkers in human urine by enzymatic hydrolysis and LC-MS/MS, Queensland Mass Spectrometry Symposium, Brisbane, Australia, 20-21 February 2025.
Additional Funding
New Investigator Grant (2026), The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation
Title: Effect of plastic chemical leachates from medical devices on the structure and function of mitochondria.
