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Polytetrafluoroethylene microplastic properties, pollution, toxicity and analysis: a review
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This review found that cooking with Teflon-coated (PTFE) pans releases thousands to millions of microplastic and nanoplastic particles per use, directly contaminating food. PTFE microplastics have been found in human tissue, wildlife, water, and air. Given how widely non-stick cookware is used in homes, this is one of the most direct and everyday sources of microplastic exposure for most people.
Abstract Cooking with polytetrafluoroethylene-coated pans releases thousands to millions of microplastic and nanoplastic particles per use, directly contaminating food and the environment. Here we review polytetrafluoroethylene microplastics with emphasis on polytetrafluoroethylene characteristics, environmental occurrence, and detection methods. Polytetrafluoroethylene has high chemical stability and is used in medical devices, clothes and protective suits, aerospace, non-sticking pans, cables and insulation, filtration, irrigation and electronics. We discuss plastic utensils as microplastic sources, and the influence of temperature and aging on microplastic release. The presence of microplastics in humans, wild animals, sediments, water and the atmosphere is described. Limitations of actual analytical methods such as density separation are detailed. Polytetrafluoroethylene accounts for about 60% of the global fluoropolymer market, and is a major contributor to microplastic pollution, accounting for up to 44% of microplastics in sediments, 74% in benthic fish, and 60% in human organs. Our meta-analysis shows that polytetrafluoroethylene microplastic concentrations average 7.3 ± 13.3 particles per L in water, 3,685.7 ± 4,832.0 particles per kg in sediment, 24.9 ± 37.1 particles per individual in fish, and 482.5 ± 554.1 particles per kg in human tissues. Polytetrafluoroethylene microplastics may impair physiological homeostasis by inducing oxidative stress, inflammation, necrosis, and disruption of key cellular signaling pathways.
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Microplastic and PTFE contamination of food from cookware
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Researchers tested whether plastic cookware releases microplastics into food during everyday cooking steps like heating, mixing, and storage, and found that both new and old plastic cookware introduced thousands of plastic particles per year into home-cooked meals. Non-plastic cookware did not add any microplastics, suggesting that switching to non-plastic pots and utensils could meaningfully reduce dietary microplastic intake.
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon) microplastics and nanoplastics induce oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, and genotoxicity in human intestinal cells
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Researchers exposed human intestinal cells to PTFE (Teflon) micro- and nanoplastics derived from cookware degradation and found that nanosized particles readily entered cells, causing oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, and DNA strand breaks at physiologically relevant concentrations.
Raman imaging for the identification of Teflon microplastics and nanoplastics released from non-stick cookware
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Researchers used Raman imaging with optimized spectral extraction algorithms to detect Teflon (PTFE) microplastics and nanoplastics released from scratched non-stick cookware surfaces. The hybrid algorithm they developed successfully resolved the weak Teflon signal from background interference, confirming that damaged non-stick pans shed detectable plastic particles.
Polytetrafluoroethylene utensils as a source of micro- and nanoplastics: Insights from a Drosophila model.
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Fruit flies fed tiny plastic particles from non-stick cookware material showed damage to their gut lining, bacteria, and cells, along with widespread changes in gene activity related to metabolism, immune function, and cell health. Smaller particles caused more gene changes than larger ones, and particles eventually spread into body fluids and affected blood cells.
Polytetrafluorethylene microplastic particles mediated oxidative stress, inflammation, and intracellular signaling pathway alteration in human derived cell lines
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Scientists tested PTFE (Teflon) microplastics on six types of human cells and found they caused oxidative stress, inflammation, and disrupted cell signaling pathways in most cell types. Smaller PTFE particles generally caused more damage than larger ones, and lung and intestinal cells were particularly affected. Since PTFE is widely used in nonstick cookware and other household products, these findings raise questions about health risks from Teflon-derived microplastic exposure.
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