We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Microplastics and Their Toxicological Impacts on Human Health: An Overview
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers synthesize recent literature on microplastic contamination, covering sources, environmental distribution, detection methods, and mechanistic evidence linking MP exposure to oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial damage, and potential neurotoxic and carcinogenic effects across multiple human organ systems.
Microplastics (MPs) represent a pervasive and complex environmental contaminant with far-reaching implications for ecosystem and human health. This literature review aims to synthesize current knowledge on the sources, environmental distribution, and toxicological impacts of microplastics on human health, with a particular focus on recent empirical findings, mechanistic insights, detection methodologies, and emerging research frontiers. The review also highlights methodological advances, policy implications, and future directions necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the risks posed by microplastic pollution to human populations.
More Papers Like This
Toxicity of microplastics and associated chemicals: A comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers synthesize current evidence on microplastic toxicity, finding that MPs and their co-contaminants — including plasticizers, flame retardants, and heavy metals — induce oxidative stress, inflammation, endocrine disruption, and microbiome changes across organisms, while noting that inconsistent methods and limited chronic-exposure data remain key barriers to accurate human risk assessment.
Potential Health Impact of Microplastics: A Review of Environmental Distribution, Human Exposure, and Toxic Effects
AI summary Read the abstract
This review summarizes existing research on how microplastics are found throughout the environment and in human samples, entering the body through food, air, and skin contact. Lab studies in cells and animals show microplastics can cause oxidative stress, DNA damage, immune reactions, brain toxicity, and reproductive harm, and early human health data links microplastic exposure to several chronic diseases.
Microplastics and Health: A Review on Environmental Exposure, Toxicokinetics and Biological Effects
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers synthesize mechanistic evidence from in vitro, in vivo, and biomonitoring studies published through 2026, finding that microplastics induce oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory cytokine responses, and organ-specific toxicity across hepatic, renal, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems, while highlighting critical gaps in standardized characterization and long-term low-dose exposure data.
Microplastics and nanoplastics in human health: a comprehensive review of exposure pathways, cellular mechanisms, and toxicological implications
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers reviewed human exposure pathways to microplastics and nanoplastics through seafood, salt, drinking water, inhalation, and skin contact, examining how these particles cross biological barriers to reach organs and trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption with poorly understood long-term consequences.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.