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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Gut & Microbiome
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Impact of artificial digestion on the sizes and shapes of microplastic particles
Food and Chemical Toxicology2019
164 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.
Alfonso Lampen
Valerie Stock,
Valerie Stock,
Valerie Stock,
Holger Sieg,
Albert Braeuning,
Valerie Stock,
Linn Voß,
Alfonso Lampen
Valerie Stock,
Holger Sieg,
Valerie Stock,
Valerie Stock,
Valerie Stock,
Valerie Stock,
Linda Böhmert,
Linn Voß,
Alfonso Lampen,
Alfonso Lampen,
Valerie Stock,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Valerie Stock,
Holger Sieg,
Linda Böhmert,
Holger Sieg,
Linda Böhmert,
Valerie Stock,
Linda Böhmert,
Christoph Fahrenson,
Christoph Fahrenson,
Holger Sieg,
Linda Böhmert,
Holger Sieg,
Linda Böhmert,
Valerie Stock,
Valerie Stock,
Christoph Fahrenson,
Christoph Fahrenson,
Andreas Thuenemann,
Albert Braeuning,
Albert Braeuning,
Albert Braeuning,
Valerie Stock,
Albert Braeuning,
Linda Böhmert,
Valerie Stock,
Merve Hilal Dönmez,
Andreas Thuenemann,
Linda Böhmert,
Valerie Stock,
Valerie Stock,
Merve Hilal Dönmez,
Merve Hilal Dönmez,
Linda Böhmert,
Alfonso Lampen
Merve Hilal Dönmez,
Linda Böhmert,
Albert Braeuning,
Albert Braeuning,
Linn Voß,
Merve Hilal Dönmez,
Alfonso Lampen,
Merve Hilal Dönmez,
Linn Voß,
Linn Voß,
Linn Voß,
Linn Voß,
Albert Braeuning,
Holger Sieg,
Albert Braeuning,
Holger Sieg,
Linn Voß,
Holger Sieg,
Linn Voß,
Linn Voß,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Christoph Fahrenson,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Christoph Fahrenson,
Holger Sieg,
Linda Böhmert,
Albert Braeuning,
Albert Braeuning,
Holger Sieg,
Albert Braeuning,
Albert Braeuning,
Albert Braeuning,
Albert Braeuning,
Holger Sieg,
Albert Braeuning,
Holger Sieg,
Alfonso Lampen,
Holger Sieg,
Alfonso Lampen
Holger Sieg,
Holger Sieg,
Linda Böhmert,
Linda Böhmert,
Holger Sieg,
Linda Böhmert,
Holger Sieg,
Linn Voß,
Linda Böhmert,
Linn Voß,
Holger Sieg,
Holger Sieg,
Albert Braeuning,
Alfonso Lampen,
Alfonso Lampen
Summary
Researchers investigated whether the human digestive process changes the size and shape of common microplastic particles. They found that all five major plastic types tested showed high resistance to artificial digestive juices, meaning the particles pass through the gastrointestinal tract largely unchanged. The study notes that proteins and other organic compounds can adsorb onto plastic particles during digestion, which could complicate accurate measurement of particle characteristics.
Current analyses show a widespread occurrence of microplastic particles in food products and raise the question of potential risks to human health. Plastic particles are widely considered to be inert due to their low chemical reactivity and therefore supposed to pose, if at all only minor hazards. However, variable physicochemical conditions during the passage of the gastrointestinal tract gain strong importance, as they may affect particle characteristics. This study aims to analyze the impact of the gastrointestinal passage on the physicochemical particle characteristics of the five most produced and thus environmentally relevant plastic materials polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and subsequent image analysis were employed to characterize microplastic particles. Our results demonstrate a high resistance of all plastic particles to the artificial digestive juices. The present results underline that the main stages of the human gastrointestinal tract do not decompose the particles. This allows a direct correlation between the physicochemical particle characteristics before and after digestion. Special attention must be paid to the adsorption of organic compounds like proteins, mucins and lipids on plastic particles since it could lead to misinterpretations of particle sizes and shapes.