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Micro and nano plastics release from a single absorbable suture into simulated body fluid
Journal of Hazardous Materials2024
9 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 55
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Dunzhu Li,
Yunhong Shi,
Dunzhu Li,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Luming Yang,
Jing Jing Wang,
Jing Jing Wang,
Jing Jing Wang,
Yunhong Shi,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Yunhong Shi,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
Yunhong Shi,
Dunzhu Li,
Yunhong Shi,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Dunzhu Li,
Yunhong Shi,
Christopher Hill,
Luming Yang,
Luming Yang,
Luming Yang,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Christopher Hill,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Jing Jing Wang,
Jing Jing Wang,
Yunhong Shi,
Luming Yang,
Liwen Xiao,
Liwen Xiao,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Dunzhu Li,
Yunhong Shi,
Christopher Hill,
Dunzhu Li,
Luming Yang,
Liwen Xiao,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
Yunhong Shi,
Liwen Xiao,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
Liwen Xiao,
Liwen Xiao,
Yunhong Shi,
Liwen Xiao,
Christopher Hill,
Yunhong Shi,
Luming Yang,
Luming Yang,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
Luming Yang,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
Christopher Hill,
Yunhong Shi,
Luming Yang,
Yunhong Shi,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
Rekha Pilliadugula,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Liwen Xiao,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
John J. Boland
Luming Yang,
Luming Yang,
Luming Yang,
Luming Yang,
Luming Yang,
Rekha Pilliadugula,
Rekha Pilliadugula,
Rekha Pilliadugula,
John J. Boland
John J. Boland
Christopher Hill,
Jing Jing Wang,
Jing Jing Wang,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
Emmet D. Sheerin,
Jing Jing Wang,
Liwen Xiao,
Jing Jing Wang,
Liwen Xiao,
John J. Boland
John J. Boland
John J. Boland
John J. Boland
John J. Boland
Luming Yang,
Christopher Hill,
Dunzhu Li,
Liwen Xiao,
Luming Yang,
Jing Jing Wang,
Jing Jing Wang,
Yunhong Shi,
Yunhong Shi,
Liwen Xiao,
John J. Boland
John J. Boland
Liwen Xiao,
John J. Boland
Jing Jing Wang,
Liwen Xiao,
Liwen Xiao,
Liwen Xiao,
Christopher Hill,
Jing Jing Wang,
Liwen Xiao,
Liwen Xiao,
Jing Jing Wang,
Dunzhu Li,
Jing Jing Wang,
Liwen Xiao,
Yunhong Shi,
Liwen Xiao,
Yunhong Shi,
John J. Boland
Liwen Xiao,
John J. Boland
Liwen Xiao,
Yunhong Shi,
Jing Jing Wang,
Yunhong Shi,
Dunzhu Li,
Jing Jing Wang,
John J. Boland
Jing Jing Wang,
John J. Boland
Summary
Researchers found that absorbable surgical sutures made from polyglycolic acid release significant numbers of micro and nano plastic particles as they dissolve inside the body. A single centimeter of one suture type released over two million tiny plastic particles into simulated body fluid, raising questions about an overlooked source of microplastic exposure in medical settings.
Synthetic polymers are widely used in medical devices and implants where biocompatibility and mechanical strength are key enablers of emerging technologies. One concern that has not been widely studied is the potential of their microplastics (MPs) release. Here we studied the levels of MP debris released following 8-week in vitro tests on three typical polyglycolic acid (PGA) based absorbable sutures (PGA 100, PGA 90 and PGA 75) and two nonabsorbable sutures (polypropylene-PP and polyamide-PA) in simulated body fluid. The MP release levels ranked from PGA 100 > > PGA 90 > PGA 75 > > PP ∼ PA. A typical PGA 100 suture released 0.63 ± 0.087 million micro (MPs > 1 µm) and 1.96 ± 0.04 million nano (NPs, 200-1000 nm) plastic particles per centimeter. In contrast, no MPs were released from the nonabsorbable sutures under the same conditions. PGA that was co-blended with 10-25% L-lactide or epsilon-caprolactone resulted in a two orders of magnitude lower level of MP release. These results underscore the need to assess the release of nano- and microplastics from medical polymers while applied in the human body and to evaluate possible risks to human health.