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Challenges in assessing ecological and health risks of microplastics and nanoplastics: tracking their dynamics in living organisms
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Researchers proposed a new method for tracking micro- and nanoplastics in living organisms using fluorescent monomers built directly into the plastic particles during synthesis. Current detection methods require destructive sampling and only provide static snapshots, missing the real-time movement of particles through biological systems. This fluorescent monomer approach is designed to enable continuous, stable imaging of plastic particles as they move through complex biological environments.
Tracking the movement and transformation of micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) in living organisms presents a fundamental challenge in evaluating health risks. While existing methods can identify and quantify MNPs, they rely on destructive sampling and provide only static snapshots, thereby failing to capture the real-time particle dynamics within biological systems. To overcome this limitation, a 'fluorescent monomer-controlled synthesis' strategy is proposed to prepare MNPs with regulable morphology and fluorescence properties, achieving uniform, stable, and continuous imaging even in complex biological environments. This method involves engineering specialized plastic monomers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties, and polymerizing MNPs with built-in fluorescence. This design strategy with evenly dispersed fluorescence probes is expected to avoid signal loss or instability and enable direct observation of the complete lifecycle of MNPs, deepening our understanding of their toxicological mechanisms.
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Researchers synthesised fluorescent microplastic particles of different polymer types that can be tracked inside living animals using near-infrared imaging, creating a tool for studying how microplastics move through and accumulate within biological tissues. These model particles help researchers understand real-world microplastic behaviour inside organisms, which is critical for assessing health risks.
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