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Comparative Evaluation of Urine, Sputum, and BALF for Human Microplastic Exposure Monitoring Using a Multicriteria Decision Framework.
Summary
Scientists compared three ways to test for microplastics in the body—urine, spit (sputum), and fluid from deep in the lungs—to figure out which works best for tracking human exposure. They found that spit had the highest levels of plastic particles and lung fluid showed the most variety of plastic types, but urine was easiest to collect from lots of people, making it the most practical choice for large-scale studies. This matters because as scientists work to understand how microplastics affect our health, having reliable, easy ways to measure exposure is a crucial first step.
Microplastic (MP) contamination in human biological systems has become a global health concern. However, the selection of the most suitable matrix for biomonitoring remains an open area of investigation. This study evaluates three biological matrices-urine, sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF)-for their suitability in MP detection and monitoring. Using data collated from a recent observational study (30 patients) and peer-reviewed literature, we assessed detection sensitivity, polymer diversity, sample availability, and practical feasibility via a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework inspired by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Results showed that sputum exhibited the highest median MP concentration (9.4 particles/mL) and BALF showed the greatest polymer diversity (6 polymer types), while urine showed the lowest levels (2.7 particles/mL). The composite MCDA scores ranked urine highest (26/35) for population studies due to its noninvasiveness and reproducibility, followed by sputum (25/35) for respiratory exposure assessment and BALF (21/35) for deep-lung mechanistic studies. We conclude that a matrix-specific strategy is essential for advancing human MP biomonitoring.