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Microplastics and Nanoplastics Contamination
Summary
This review summarizes the state of knowledge on human exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics, covering ingestion, inhalation, and skin contact as entry routes, and detailing how these particles have been detected in human blood, organs, and the placenta. The evidence points to chronic health risks including oxidative stress, inflammation, immune disruption, and potential genotoxicity, with the skin identified as an underexplored but potentially significant exposure pathway.
Plastic pollution has become one of the most serious environmental threats in the world today, as production and accumulation have been growing indiscriminately since the third industrial revolution in 1950. Improper management and disposal of plastic waste generated an emerging class of pollutants known as microplastics and nanoplastics that are of significant concern for all life forms. Microplastics and nanoplastics show high heterogeneity in terms of physical–chemical properties such as size, shape, color and chemical composition. Furthermore, the high adsorption capacity makes them multifaceted environmental stressors capable of carrying organic and inorganic chemical substances as well as pathogens. Humans are exposed to microplastics and nanoplastics via a combination of inhalation, ingestion and skin contact. Based on current data, the potential adverse health effects on humans are mainly associated with epithelial barrier dysfunction and microbiome dysbiosis. Furthermore, recent evidence indicates that microplastics and nanoplastics exist in human blood and accumulate in organs/tissues including brain and placenta. Due to their persistent nature, microplastics and nanoplastics induce chronic and intense localized biological responses such as cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation and immune responses, metabolism disruption, mitochondrial and lysosomal dysfunction, autophagy as well as mutagenicity and genotoxicity. While the human health risks of microplastics and nanoplastics exposure have been extensively studied in the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems, interest in the skin health implications has only recently gained attention. Current data in single cell lines and animal models confirm the potential impacts of microplastics and nanoplastics on skin homeostasis and microbiome. Furthermore, the skin is a complex organ with a large surface area that provides a vast interface for the penetration of microplastics and nanoplastics into the body to produce systemic effects. As available research is still limited, future investigations in more reliable skin models and clinical-epidemiological studies are necessary to provide definitive data on the long-term consequences and pathological mechanisms of microplastics and nanoplastics exposure in the skin tissue.