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Impact of artificial digestion on the sizes and shapes of microplastic particles
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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.
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Impact of Digestion on Surface Microstructures of Microplastics
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.