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Microplastics and nanoplastics in human health: a comprehensive review of exposure pathways, cellular mechanisms, and toxicological implications
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Researchers reviewed human exposure pathways to microplastics and nanoplastics through seafood, salt, drinking water, inhalation, and skin contact, examining how these particles cross biological barriers to reach organs and trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption with poorly understood long-term consequences.
The occurrence and accumulation of plastic in the environment are major issues, and studies show various pathways through which plastic risks human health. This review examines the knowledge of human exposure to microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), their biological fate, and potential health implications. These include consumption of seafood (0.04–3.5 MPs/g), using table salt (0–1700 MPs/kg), and drinking water (325–54,200,000 MPs/L). Additionally, people can inhale (0.4–59 fibres/m3) or come into direct contact with them through their skin. The ability of MPs and NPs to translocate across biological barriers and interact with cellular components shows how they distribute within the human body. This review delves into the molecular and cellular mechanisms that result in toxicity, such as oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, and disruption of the endocrine system. NPs have gotten considerable focus because of their unique properties and cellular uptake; nevertheless, tackling the analytical difficulties preventing the human sample’s dependable characterization and quantification is essential. MPs and NPs may interact with other environmental pollutants, and this review emphasizes critical gaps in our comprehension of their long-term, low-dose effects. Standardized techniques and improved detection techniques need to be developed and established in future studies to address these issues.
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A comprehensive review documents how microplastics enter the human body through ingestion, inhalation, and skin contact, then reach the lungs, liver, kidneys, brain, and reproductive organs, triggering oxidative stress, inflammation, endocrine disruption, and genotoxicity. These biochemical pathways link microplastic exposure to serious chronic conditions including metabolic syndrome, neurodegenerative disease, reproductive dysfunction, and cancer.
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Researchers reviewed human health consequences of environmental micro- and nanoplastic contamination, noting that while detection in human tissues is growing, the extent of biological harm remains poorly characterized and requires more systematic study of exposure routes and dose-response relationships.
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This review synthesizes evidence that microplastics and nanoplastics have been detected in human blood, placenta, breast milk, and stool, with emerging associations between internal MNP burdens and inflammatory, cardiometabolic, and potential reproductive effects. Humans are exposed through ingestion, inhalation, skin contact, and medical interventions, making microplastic accumulation in the body a pressing public health concern requiring urgent research into clinical health outcomes.
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