The Big Question

What if we could detect, understand the health impacts of, and remove toxic microplastics from the body?

The Problem

• Microplastics are everywhere and are constantly being ingested and inhaled by people worldwide.
• Microplastics have been linked to a wide variety of health issues ranging from metabolic disruption to stroke.
• Microplastics are hard to see and measure, and scientists still don’t understand which microplastics are the most toxic, how they get into organs and cells, and how they cause harm.
• There is no known, validated way to remove microplastics from the body. 

The Solution

The STOMP program will advance three technical areas across two phases.

In phase one, STOMP will:

• develop best-in-class lab-based measurements that can accurately characterize nano-sized microplastic particles even in complex biological tissue.
• image and characterize microplastics in animal organs and cells, illuminating the complex mechanisms of microplastic trafficking and toxicity.

In phase two, STOMP will:

• translate best-in-class microplastic measurement techniques into affordable, scalable systems that can quantify a patient’s microplastic burden in a clinical setting.
• draw on measurement methods and mechanistic understanding to develop solutions that can remove microplastics from the human body. 

Only ARPA-H can...

• Bring together a multidisciplinary field to make a revolutionary leap in understanding microplastics deposition in the human body. 
• Give individuals and healthcare providers the tools to detect and reduce harmful microplastic exposure—particularly for vulnerable populations including pregnant women, children, patients with chronic disease, and workers with high occupational exposure.