Papers

Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains

Researchers found microplastics in human brain, liver, and kidney tissue samples, with plastic levels significantly higher in samples from 2024 compared to 2016. The brain contained especially high levels of polyethylene, and brains from people with dementia had even more plastic accumulation. These findings suggest that microplastics are building up in human organs over time, raising urgent questions about potential health effects.

Quantitation and identification of microplastics accumulation in human placental specimens using pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry

Researchers analyzed 62 human placenta samples and found microplastics in every single one, with concentrations ranging from 6.5 to 685 micrograms per gram of tissue. Polyethylene, the most common plastic in everyday products, made up 54% of the plastics found. This widespread presence of microplastics in placentas raises concerns about fetal exposure during pregnancy and potential effects on development.

Microplastics contamination in food products: Occurrence, analytical techniques and potential impacts on human health

Researchers reviewed the occurrence of microplastics in a wide range of food products — including drinking water, seafood, honey, salt, and vegetables — and the health effects of ingesting them, which include inflammation, gut microbiome disruption, hormone disruption, and increased cancer risk. The review calls for standardized detection methods and a multi-pronged strategy combining source reduction, better recycling, and biodegradable plastic alternatives.

Author Correction: Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains

The threat of microplastics and microbial degradation potential; a current perspective

This review covers the growing threat of microplastics in marine environments, where they enter the food chain and can transfer to humans along with pathogenic organisms, causing various toxic effects. The paper also explores how bacteria and fungi found in ocean environments could be harnessed to biodegrade different types of plastics as a future strategy for reducing microplastic pollution.

Wetland Removal Mechanisms for Emerging Contaminants

This review examines how natural and constructed wetlands remove emerging contaminants, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and microplastics, from water. Researchers found that wetlands use a combination of physical, chemical, and biological processes to transform and trap these pollutants. The study highlights wetlands as a promising, low-cost approach for treating emerging contaminants that conventional wastewater systems may miss.

Photoaging of polystyrene microspheres causes oxidative alterations to surface physicochemistry and enhances airway epithelial toxicity

Researchers aged polystyrene microplastics with UV light and then tested their effects on human lung cells. They found that UV-weathered particles caused more pronounced biological responses than fresh ones, including cell cycle disruption, altered cell shape, and impaired wound healing. The study suggests that environmental aging of airborne microplastics may increase their potential to harm respiratory tissues.

Role of UV radiation and oxidation on polyethylene micro- and nanoplastics: impacts on cadmium sorption, bioaccumulation, and toxicity in fish intestinal cells

This study examined how UV aging and oxidation change the way polyethylene micro and nanoplastics interact with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, in fish gut cells. While the plastics actually reduced cadmium absorption and toxicity in the cells, UV aging changed the particles' surface chemistry and caused them to clump together differently. The results suggest that the interaction between microplastics and heavy metals in the environment is complex and depends on how weathered the plastic is.

Polysaccharide nanocomposites in wastewater treatment: A review

This review covers how natural sugar-based polymers (polysaccharides) combined with nanoparticles can be used to clean contaminated water, removing pollutants including heavy metals, dyes, and pharmaceutical residues. While not focused on microplastics specifically, these eco-friendly materials could potentially be adapted to filter microplastics from water as well. The technology is relevant because it offers sustainable alternatives to conventional water treatment methods that struggle with emerging contaminants.

In Vivo Tissue Distribution of Microplastics and Systemic Metabolomic Alterations After Gastrointestinal Exposure

Researchers fed mice a mixture of common microplastics and then tracked where the particles ended up in the body and how they affected metabolism. They found that ingested microplastics crossed the gut barrier and accumulated in the liver, kidneys, and other tissues, causing measurable changes in metabolic pathways. The study provides evidence that microplastic exposure through the digestive system can lead to widespread tissue distribution and systemic metabolic disruption in mammals.

Adsorption of Alachlor, Lindane, And Methomyl onto Polystyrene Microplastics: Effects of Aging Treatments

Researchers studied how laboratory aging treatments affect the ability of polystyrene microplastics to absorb three common pesticides. They found that UV-aged and chemically oxidized microplastics adsorbed significantly more pesticides than unaged particles due to increased surface area and chemical changes. The findings indicate that weathered microplastics in the environment may act as more potent carriers of agricultural chemicals.

Enhanced Identification of Weathered Plastics Through the Improvement of Infrared Spectral Libraries

Researchers developed an improved infrared spectral library specifically designed to identify weathered and degraded plastics that conventional libraries often misidentify. The new library increased match rates by 7.3% for thermally oxidized plastics and improved identification of mechanically abraded samples, addressing a significant gap in accurate microplastic detection and environmental risk assessment.

Methodology, characterization, and multiple-path particle dosimetry modeling of laboratory inhalation exposure for micro-nanoplastic particles in rodents

Researchers developed and characterized a standardized methodology for exposing rodents to inhaled micro- and nanoplastic particles at concentrations representative of environmental and occupational settings. The study used polyamide-12 particles and computational modeling to estimate respiratory deposition patterns in both rats and humans, providing a validated framework for future inhalation toxicology studies on plastic particles.

Viability of elutriation for the extraction of microplastics from environmental soil samples

Researchers evaluated whether elutriation, a technique previously used for marine sediments, could effectively extract microplastics from freshwater and terrestrial soils. Testing across five different soil types in Oklahoma, they found that elutriation achieved substantial sample mass reduction without losing microplastic particles. The study demonstrates that elutriation is a viable and efficient preprocessing step for extracting microplastics from diverse soil types.

Thermal oxidation, ultraviolet radiation, and mechanical abrasion - understanding mechanisms of microplastic generation and chemical transformation

Researchers evaluated how consumer-derived polymers fragment and chemically transform when exposed to UV radiation or thermal oxidation followed by soil abrasion. The study found that these combined weathering processes, which mimic real-world environmental conditions, significantly affect the rate and type of microplastic generation. The results highlight how everyday use and environmental exposure work together to break down plastics into microplastic particles.

Adsorption of progesterone onto microplastics and its desorption in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids

Progesterone adsorbed readily to polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene microplastics (up to 357 µg/g), and desorption experiments in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids showed substantial release under digestive conditions, suggesting a pathway for hormonal contaminant transfer via ingested MPs.

Bioanalytical approaches for the detection, characterization, and risk assessment of micro/nanoplastics in agriculture and food systems

This review examines bioanalytical methods for detecting micro- and nanoplastics throughout the agricultural and food supply chain, covering techniques from microscopy and spectroscopy to emerging approaches for characterizing plastic contamination and assessing associated risks.

Emerging investigator series: open dumping and burning: an overlooked source of terrestrial microplastics in underserved communities

Researchers investigated open dump and burn sites in Oklahoma and Montana and found microplastic concentrations in soil that equal or exceed levels from known sources like biosolids application. Polyethylene was the dominant polymer, and burned microplastics accounted for up to 97% of particles found, suggesting that waste dumping and burning in underserved communities is a major overlooked source of terrestrial microplastic pollution.

Uranium accumulation in environmentally relevant microplastics and agricultural soil at acidic and circumneutral pH

Researchers examined how uranium interacts with high-density polyethylene microplastics and agricultural soil at different pH levels. The study found that while soil rapidly removed most aqueous uranium, microplastics accumulated measurable amounts of uranium over time, raising concerns about microplastics acting as carriers for radioactive contaminants in the environment.

Spatiotemporal assessment of microplastic incidence in the Atoyac basin — a key watershed in Mexico

This spatiotemporal study quantified and characterized microplastics in freshwater and sediments across the Atoyac sub-basin in Mexico, documenting MP types, shapes, and sizes at sites impacted by urban, agricultural, and industrial activity over multiple sampling periods.

Life on Plastics: Deep-Sea Foraminiferal Colonization Patterns and Reproductive Morphology

Researchers examined deep-sea foraminifera colonizing plastic debris from ocean floors, finding that plastics serve as novel substrates enabling colonization and reproduction for these calcifying microorganisms, raising questions about ecological impacts of plastics on deep-sea benthic communities.

What We Are Learning from COVID-19 for Respiratory Protection: Contemporary and Emerging Issues

This review examines lessons from COVID-19 for respiratory protection, analyzing how the pandemic revealed limitations in mask design, supply chains, and risk communication, while driving innovation in filtration materials including electrospun nanofiber membranes that shed microplastics.

P18-09 Quantitative analysis of micro and nanoplastics in biological tissues: implications for environmental and human health

First-Year Performance of the Pervious Oyster Shell Habitat (POSH) along Two Energetic Shorelines in Northeast Florida

This paper is not relevant to microplastics; it evaluates a novel oyster-shell-based living shoreline structure called POSH for its performance in providing oyster reef habitat along energetic shorelines in Florida.