We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
In Vivo Microplastic Detection With Photoacoustic Imaging
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists have developed a new way to track microplastics inside living bodies using light and sound waves, without cutting into tissue or using dyes—a big improvement over previous methods that only worked in tiny see-through creatures or destroyed samples to get answers. In tests with mice, this technique tracked plastic particles for two months, opening the door to finally understanding how microplastics build up, move, and potentially harm the body over time. If adapted for humans, this could help researchers figure out which types of plastic exposure are actually risky for our health—something we currently know surprisingly little about.
Microplastics are posing an escalating threat to both ecological systems and human health. Yet, current methods for investigating their bioaccumulation are highly invasive, requiring destructive analysis of ex vivo tissues via mass spectrometry, dye labelling, or Raman microspectroscopy. This limits the study of biodistribution dynamics in preclinical models and human populations, leaving an urgent need for non-invasive alternatives. Meeting this challenge, for the first time in living tissue, the native optical absorption properties of microplastics are exploited to generate photoacoustic signal - imageable ultrasound emission following thermalisation of pulsed laser light. Distinct optical absorption profiles enable microplastic differentiation from endogenous biological signal sources, long-term tracking over 2 months in a mouse model, and microscale resolution of particle features verified histologically. This novel approach overcomes previous limitations of optical and nuclear imaging methods relying on fluorescent dyes or radio-isotopes, going beyond small transparent organisms such as zebrafish or nematodes, and half-life-dependent timescales, respectively. By enabling serial monitoring of microplastic biodistribution dynamics, this technique will help interrogate interacting factors such as ingestion route, microplastic shape, size and polymer type - and their effects on accumulation, degradation, clearance, and disease in animal models, and, ultimately, human subjects.
More Papers Like This
MRI-based microplastic tracking in vivo and targeted toxicity analysis
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed a new MRI-based method to track microplastics inside living mice over 21 days. They found that the liver was the primary organ where polystyrene microplastics accumulated, and this accumulation led to liver cell death, inflammation, and changes in enzyme levels. This tracking technique could help scientists better understand how microplastics move through and affect biological systems.
Near-infrared (NIR-II) fluorescent poly(ethylene terephthalate) nano-microplastics for in vivo tracking
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed a new method to track nano-microplastics inside living animals in real time using near-infrared fluorescent imaging. By embedding a special dye into common PET plastic particles, they were able to follow the particles through mice after oral exposure, offering a promising tool for studying how plastics of different sizes behave inside the body.
Covalently labeled fluorescence-MRI dual-modal polystyrene microspheres for imaging and analysis of microplastics in biological systems.
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists have created a new type of tiny plastic particle that glows under fluorescent light and shows up on MRI scans, allowing researchers to track exactly where microplastics travel in the body. In tests with zebrafish and mice, these specially labeled particles stayed stable and trackable without leaking harmful dye or metal, giving scientists a reliable new tool to study how microplastics move through living tissue and what health risks they might pose. This isn't a finding about microplastics' dangers directly—it's a new tracking method that will help future research answer that question more precisely.
Label-Free Identification and Imaging of Microplastic and Nanoplastic Biouptake Using Optical Photothermal Infrared Microspectroscopy
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed a new imaging technique that can locate and identify microplastic and nanoplastic particles inside whole organisms without needing fluorescent labels. Using a method called optical photothermal infrared microscopy, they tracked polystyrene particles as small as 1 micrometer in roundworms. This tool could help scientists better understand how plastic particles are taken up by living things and where they accumulate in the body.
A PTCA LabelingMethod for Direct LDI-MSI of PolystyreneNanospheres
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists developed a new imaging technique that lets them track exactly where plastic nanoparticles end up in the body and see how they disrupt normal chemistry at the same time. Using this method in mice, they found that plastic particles entering the bloodstream mostly collected in the lungs and triggered changes in metabolism, while particles breathed into the lungs stayed there for weeks, causing lasting disruptions. This matters because it gives researchers a powerful new tool to study how the micro/nanoplastics we're increasingly exposed to might affect our health over time.
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.