Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Bioaccessibility of microplastic-associated heavy metals using an in vitro digestion model and its implications for human health risk assessment

Researchers evaluated the bioaccessibility of heavy metals associated with microplastics using an in vitro digestion model to assess human health risks. The study found significant adsorption of arsenic, chromium, cadmium, and lead onto polyvinyl chloride microplastics, with varying bioaccessibility across different digestive phases. The findings suggest that incorporating bioaccessibility data into risk assessments may provide more accurate estimates of health risks from ingesting microplastic-associated heavy metals.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of the potential human health risk derived from metals associated to microplastics from recycled and biopolymer-based plastics

Researchers assessed the human health risk from metals associated with microplastics derived from recycled PET and polylactic acid (PLA) biopolymers using oral bioaccessibility testing, finding that intrinsic metal content increased with recycling cycles and that both materials adsorbed metals from the environment, with bioaccessible metal fractions posing potential health risks.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Exploring the release of microplastics' additives in the human digestive environment by an in vitro dialysis approach using simulated fluids

Researchers used an in vitro dialysis method with simulated digestive fluids to simultaneously assess both the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of plastic additives released from microplastics during human digestion. The study found that biopolymer microplastics released approximately four times more additives than conventional petroleum-based plastics, and that mechanical recycling and marine aging altered additive release patterns, raising questions about the safety assumptions around biodegradable plastics.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioaccessibility of Trace Metals and Rare Earth Elements (REE) in Microplastic

Researchers measured the bioaccessibility of trace metals and rare earth elements adsorbed onto beach microplastics using simulated digestive fluid conditions. Metals were released from microplastic surfaces under stomach acid conditions, indicating that plastic ingestion can deliver these contaminants to digestive systems of marine organisms and humans.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as Vectors of Chromium and Lead during Dynamic Simulation of the Human Gastrointestinal Tract

Using a dynamic in vitro simulator of the human gastrointestinal tract, researchers showed that chromium and lead adsorbed to polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics are released and become bioaccessible in gut conditions, suggesting microplastics can act as vectors delivering heavy metals to human tissues.

2020 Sustainability 62 citations
Article Tier 2

How Digestive Processes Can Affect the Bioavailability of PCBs Associated with Microplastics: A Modeling Study Supported by Empirical Data

Researchers used a simulated human digestive model to study whether gut processes change how quickly chemicals like PCBs transfer on and off microplastic particles. They found that digestive enzymes and bile salts significantly accelerated the release of these chemicals from microplastics, suggesting that the human gut environment may increase exposure to plastic-associated pollutants. The study provides new evidence that microplastics could act as carriers that release harmful chemicals more readily during digestion.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing potential toxicity and metal bioavailability of secondary microplastics using in-vitro human gastric models

This study assessed the potential toxicity and metal bioavailability of sediment samples from an aquatic environment, evaluating how co-occurring microplastics may influence metal toxicity by altering metal speciation and uptake. The results highlight complex interactions between plastic particles and metal contaminants in sediments.

2024 Spiral (Imperial College London)
Article Tier 2

Toxic metal-adsorbed microplastics threaten human digestive system: A bioaccessibility-based risk assessment

Researchers assessed the health risks of toxic metals adsorbed onto microplastics when ingested through seafood, sea salt, and drinking water. They found that environmental aging increased the metal-adsorption capacity of microplastics by roughly ninefold, with the greatest risk observed in children aged 0-3 years during stomach digestion. The study suggests that fish, bivalves, and crustaceans are the dietary sources contributing most to non-carcinogenic risk from metal-contaminated microplastics.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic serves as a potential vector for Cr in an in-vitro human digestive model

Researchers tested whether microplastics could transport chromium into the human body using an in-vitro digestive model simulating the mouth, stomach, and intestines. They found that chromium was released from contaminated microplastics primarily in the stomach phase, with biodegradable polylactic acid releasing the highest proportion despite having the weakest initial adsorption. The study suggests that microplastics may act as vectors for delivering heavy metals into the human digestive system.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 218 citations
Article Tier 2

Copper adsorption on microplastics: Investigating toxicity in an in vitro digestive environment

Researchers analyzed how the presence of microplastics affects copper bioaccessibility and toxicity during in vitro digestion, testing naturally weathered particles as a realistic exposure model. Microplastics altered the bioaccessible fraction of copper, with implications for how co-ingested metals behave in the human gut.

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

Desorption of bisphenol A from microplastics under simulated gastrointestinal conditions

Researchers investigated bisphenol A desorption from three types of microplastics under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, finding that ingested microplastics can release adsorbed BPA during digestion, posing potential health risks.

2023 Frontiers in Marine Science 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Copper adsorption on microplastics: Investigating toxicity in an in vitro digestive environment

Researchers investigated how the presence of naturally weathered microplastics affects the bioaccessibility and toxicity of adsorbed copper during simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Results showed that microplastics altered the release and uptake of copper in the gut, potentially increasing or decreasing its bioavailable fraction depending on conditions.

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

In vitro avian bioaccessibility of metals adsorbed to microplastic pellets

This study simulated marine avian gastric conditions in vitro to assess how readily metals adsorbed to polyethylene microplastic pellets become bioaccessible after ingestion by seabirds. Results show that authigenic metals such as iron and manganese, along with trace metals including lead and cobalt, are released under simulated digestive conditions.

2020 Environmental Pollution 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as a Trojan horse for trace metals

Researchers demonstrated that microplastics can absorb toxic metals from surrounding water and release them in conditions mimicking the human gut, essentially acting as a "Trojan horse" that transports heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and chromium into the body alongside the plastic particles.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters 102 citations
Article Tier 2

An automatic flow-through system for exploration of the human bioaccessibility of endocrine disrupting compounds from microplastics

An automated flow-through system was developed to investigate the bioaccessibility of plastic-borne contaminants in the human gastrointestinal tract using physiologically relevant body fluids. The system measured leaching rates of plastic additives under fasted and fed state conditions, providing the first mechanistic data on how ingested microplastics release chemical contaminants in the human gut.

2021 The Analyst 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Mimicking human ingestion of microplastics: Oral bioaccessibility tests of bisphenol A and phthalate esters under fed and fasted states

Researchers simulated human digestion to measure how much bisphenol A and phthalate esters leach from polyethylene and PVC microplastics under fasting and fed conditions. They found that polar additives like dimethyl phthalate and BPA had the highest bioaccessibility, ranging from 37% to 92%, with greater release from the more flexible LDPE polymer. The study suggests that chemical additives in ingested microplastics can become bioaccessible during human digestion, with release rates depending on the plastic type and additive properties.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Release of heavy metals during in vitro fish gastrointestinal digestion from microplastics collected at Calabrian coasts

This study simulated fish digestion to measure how much lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, and other heavy metals leach out of microplastics collected from the Calabrian coast of Italy. The gastric (stomach acid) phase released far more metals than the intestinal phase, and smaller microplastic particles released higher metal concentrations due to their greater surface area. Chromium, lead, cadmium, and zinc showed significant migration, with lead detected as solid particles on plastic surfaces. These findings are relevant to understanding the combined toxic burden that fish and potentially people face when ingesting contaminated microplastics.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Differential Effects of the Human Digestive Process on Petroleum- and Bio-Based Microplastics Following an In Vitro Approach to Determine Polymer Integrity and Seafood Digestibility

Researchers used an in vitro human digestion model to assess how PET and PLA microplastics affect the digestibility of three seafood species, finding that both plastic types partially resisted gastrointestinal degradation and that they differentially altered nutrient absorption from the seafood.

2025 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Speciation and release risk of heavy metals bonded on simulated naturally-aged microplastics prepared from artificially broken macroplastics

Researchers investigated heavy metal speciation and release risk from naturally aged microplastics in simulated saltwater and gastrointestinal solutions, finding that different metals varied in adsorption capacity and release behavior, posing potential risks to both ecosystems and human health.

2021 Environmental Pollution 36 citations
Article Tier 2

A metrologically traceable protocol for the quantification of trace metals in different types of microplastic

This study developed a fully validated acid digestion protocol for measuring trace metals in different types of microplastic particles, enabling metrologically traceable quantification. Reliable methods for measuring metals in microplastics are needed to better understand how much toxic metal is associated with plastic particles ingested by organisms.

2020 PLoS ONE 39 citations