Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Influence of artificial digestion on characteristics and intestinal cellular effects of micro-, submicro- and nanoplastics

Researchers simulated human digestion to study how micro-, submicro-, and nanoplastics change as they pass through the stomach and intestines. They found that the digestive process altered the surface properties and size distribution of the plastic particles, potentially affecting how they interact with intestinal cells. The study suggests that the body's digestive environment may transform plastic particles in ways that influence their biological impact.

2023 Food and Chemical Toxicology 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Changes of physico-chemical properties of nano-biomaterials by digestion fluids affect the physiological properties of epithelial intestinal cells and barrier models

Researchers found that when nano-sized biomaterials pass through simulated digestive fluids, their physical and chemical properties change in ways that affect how intestinal cells respond to them. This highlights the importance of testing ingested nanoparticles — including nanoplastics — through realistic digestion conditions before drawing conclusions about their safety.

2022 Particle and Fibre Toxicology 28 citations
Article Tier 2

The potential effects of in vitro digestion on the physicochemical and biological characteristics of polystyrene nanoplastics

Researchers studied how the human digestive process changes the physical and biological properties of polystyrene nanoplastics. They found that digestive fluids altered the surface characteristics of the particles, potentially affecting how they interact with gut cells. The study suggests that the form of nanoplastics that actually reaches our intestines may behave differently than the pristine particles typically used in lab studies.

2023 Environmental Pollution 30 citations
Article Tier 2

What if you eat nanoplastics? Simulating nanoplastics fate during gastrointestinal digestion

Researchers simulated what happens to nanoplastics as they pass through the human digestive system, from the mouth through the stomach and intestines. They found that digestive conditions significantly altered the size and surface properties of the particles, which could affect how readily they are absorbed into the body. The study provides important insights into how the gut environment transforms nanoplastics and may influence their potential health effects.

2024 Chemosphere 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to nanoplastics in food : fate, physicochemical transformations and toxicity on the digestive sphere

This French doctoral thesis investigated how nanoplastics in food undergo physicochemical transformations during digestion and their resulting toxicity on the digestive system. The work found that digestion alters nanoplastic surface properties and increases their uptake by gut cells, enhancing potential toxic effects.

2025 theses.fr (ABES)
Article Tier 2

Perturbation of gut microbiota plays an important role in micro/nanoplastics-induced gut barrier dysfunction

Researchers investigated how micro- and nanoplastics disrupt gut barrier function in mice, finding that different surface chemistries caused varying levels of damage. The study suggests that these plastic particles harm the gut by altering the gut microbiome, which then leads to inflammation and weakening of the intestinal barrier that normally keeps harmful substances out of the body.

2021 Nanoscale 198 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of food matrices on the characteristics and cellular toxicities of ingested nanoplastics in a simulated digestive tract

Researchers investigated how different food components affect the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics as they pass through a simulated human digestive system. They found that fat molecules helped stabilize and disperse the nanoplastics during digestion, increasing their uptake by intestinal cells and worsening cellular damage. The study suggests that the type of food consumed alongside nanoplastic-contaminated items could significantly influence how much harm the particles cause in the gut.

2023 Food and Chemical Toxicology 24 citations
Article Tier 2

The influence of digestive tract protein on cytotoxicity of polyvinyl chloride microplastics

This study examined how human digestive enzymes change the properties of PVC microplastics as they pass through a simulated digestive tract. After digestion, the microplastics became more water-friendly and mobile in the body, and they caused greater damage to intestinal cells, including reduced cell survival, increased oxidative stress, and disrupted energy metabolism. These findings suggest that the digestion process itself may make microplastics more harmful to the human gut than previously assumed.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro(nano)plastics in food system: potential health impacts on human intestinal system.

This review assessed how micro(nano)plastics in the human food system reach the intestine and accumulate in the gut, summarizing evidence that they can alter intestinal barrier function, trigger inflammation, and disrupt the gut microbiome, with implications for long-term digestive health.

2024 Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
Article Tier 2

Digestion of microplastics with simulated gastrointestinal conditions mitigates uptake by intestinal epithelial cells: Quantified by imaging flow cytometry

Researchers studied how simulated digestion affects the uptake of microplastics by intestinal cells. They found that microplastics that had been through a simulated digestive process were taken up at significantly lower rates compared to pristine particles. The findings suggest that digestive conditions may reduce how many microplastics actually cross the intestinal barrier, which is important for understanding real-world human exposure.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposition à des nanoplastiques présents dans l'alimentation : devenir, transformations physico-chimiques et toxicité sur la sphère digestive

This French research examined the fate and toxicity of nanoplastics ingested through food, finding that digestive processes alter nanoplastic surfaces in ways that increase their absorption and toxicity in the gut. The work highlights the gastrointestinal tract as a critical interface for nanoplastic health risk.

2025 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

In vitro digestion of microplastics in human digestive system: Insights into particle morphological changes and chemical leaching

Researchers simulated human digestion on four common types of microplastics and found that stomach acid and digestive enzymes changed the particles' shape, surface texture, and caused them to release chemical additives. The study shows that microplastics are not inert once swallowed -- they are actively transformed in the gut, which could increase their ability to interact with intestinal tissues and release potentially harmful chemicals.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in our diet: complementary in vitro gut and epithelium models to understand their fate in the human digestive tract.

Researchers used complementary in vitro gut models to study how microplastics behave during human digestion, finding that digestive conditions alter microplastic surface properties and their interactions with gut cells. The work advances understanding of how ingested microplastics may affect the human digestive system.

2021 HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe)
Article Tier 2

Influence of the digestive process on intestinal toxicity of polystyrene microplastics as determined by in vitro Caco-2 models

Researchers studied how the human digestive process transforms polystyrene microplastics and affects their intestinal toxicity using in vitro Caco-2 cell models. The study found that digestion formed a corona on microplastic surfaces without altering their chemical composition, and that smaller particles (100 nm) showed higher toxicity than larger ones (5 micrometers) regardless of digestive treatment.

2020 Chemosphere 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic nanoparticle toxicity is accentuated in the immune-competent inflamed intestinal tri-culture cell model

Researchers tested nanoplastic toxicity using an advanced intestinal cell model that includes immune cells to simulate both healthy and inflamed gut conditions. They found that plastic nanoparticle exposure caused greater damage in the inflamed model, with immune-competent cells showing increased pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, suggesting that individuals with existing intestinal inflammation may be more vulnerable to nanoplastic exposure.

2025 Nanotoxicology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics disrupt the intestinal microenvironment by altering bacteria-host interactions through extracellular vesicle-delivered microRNAs

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics disrupt the gut lining in mice by altering tiny RNA molecules that control the production of protective proteins in the intestinal barrier. The nanoplastics also caused an imbalance in gut bacteria, creating a chain reaction where damaged gut cells release particles that further weaken the intestinal barrier and change the microbiome.

2025 Nature Communications 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Digestion of plastics using in vitro human gastrointestinal tract and their potential to adsorb emerging organic pollutants

Researchers simulated human digestion of polystyrene and polyethylene plastics and found that digestive processes fundamentally altered plastic surfaces, creating new functional groups and generating micro- and nanostructures that can detach. The study suggests that digested plastics have enhanced capacity to adsorb certain pollutants like triclosan and diclofenac, potentially increasing health risks from ingested plastic.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate, uptake and impact of fit-for-purpose nanoplastics on the digestive environment: an in vitro-in vivo continuum study

Researchers used fluorescently and gold-labeled polystyrene nanoplastics as models to study how these particles behave in the digestive environment and what effects they have on gut health. The study revealed that nanoplastics interact with the digestive system in ways that depend on particle labeling and surface properties.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

An inverted in vitro triple culture model of the healthy and inflamed intestine: Adverse effects of polyethylene particles.

Using a laboratory model of the human intestinal lining, researchers tested how polyethylene microplastics affect intestinal cells and found they disrupted the barrier function of the gut wall. A compromised intestinal barrier allows larger molecules and particles to pass into the body, which could amplify the health effects of microplastic ingestion.

2021 Chemosphere
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics deteriorate LPS-modulated duodenal permeability and inflammation in mice via ROS drived-NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics worsened intestinal inflammation and increased gut permeability in mice already exposed to bacterial endotoxin. The combined exposure triggered higher levels of oxidative stress and activated inflammatory pathways, leading to greater damage to the intestinal lining than either substance alone. The study suggests that nanoplastic exposure could make the gut more vulnerable to inflammation and barrier breakdown when other stressors are present.

2022 Chemosphere 156 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics differ in particle-mucus interactions: The sight on rheological properties, barrier dysfunction and microbiota dysbiosis

Researchers compared how micro- and nanoplastics interact with the protective mucus layer lining the intestines and found that nanoplastics were wrapped in mucus while microplastics were not. Both particle sizes disrupted the gut barrier and altered the gut microbiome in mice at environmentally relevant doses, but through different mechanisms. The study suggests that the mucus layer, a key line of defense in the gut, responds differently depending on plastic particle size, with implications for understanding how ingested plastics may affect digestive health.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the role of real food matrices on the behavior and toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics during digestion simulation

Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics behave and affect cells when consumed alongside real food, using milk as the test matrix, during simulated digestion. They found that food proteins and digestive enzymes formed a coating around the nanoplastics that changed their aggregation behavior and reduced their toxicity compared to nanoplastics alone. The study suggests that the presence of food during digestion may significantly alter how nanoplastics interact with the body, an important factor often overlooked in toxicity studies.

2025 NanoImpact 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Differently surface-labeled polystyrene nanoplastics at an environmentally relevant concentration induced Crohn’s ileitis-like features via triggering intestinal epithelial cell necroptosis

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics at environmentally realistic levels triggered Crohn's disease-like inflammation in the small intestine of mice. Different surface coatings on the nanoplastics affected which immune pathways were activated, but all types caused gut damage. This study suggests that nanoplastic exposure through food and water could contribute to inflammatory bowel disease in humans.

2023 Environment International 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Digestion, Cell Culture Media, and Mucous on the Physical Properties, Cellular Effects, and Translocation of Polystyrene and Polymethacrylate Nanoparticles

Researchers studied how simulated digestion and mucous barriers affect the physical properties and translocation of polymethacrylate and polystyrene nanoparticles across an in vitro intestinal cell model. The study found that digestion dramatically increased nanoparticle agglomeration and altered surface charge, and that amine-functionalized nanoparticles were able to cross the intestinal barrier regardless of mucous levels, compromising monolayer integrity.

2023 Toxics 6 citations