Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Environmental nanoparticles and placental research

This commentary reviews how nanoparticles — including nanoplastics and black carbon from combustion — can potentially cross the placental barrier and reach the developing fetus. The authors highlight early evidence linking microplastic and nanoparticle exposure to adverse pregnancy outcomes, and call for better detection methods and controlled studies to understand the true risk to fetal development.

2023 BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Biological interactions between nanomaterials and placental development and function following oral exposure

Researchers reviewed animal studies on orally ingested nanomaterials (including nanoplastics) and found that while the placenta is generally an effective barrier preventing fetal transfer, nanomaterials accumulating in placental tissue can impair placental development and function, with potential downstream effects on fetal health.

2019 Reproductive Toxicology 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Placental Exposure to Nanoplastics Threatening the Maternal and Fetal Health

This review examines how nanoplastics reaching the placenta threaten maternal and fetal health, summarizing evidence from animal and in vitro studies showing that placental nanoplastic accumulation disrupts nutrient transport, immune function, and fetal development.

2025 Health Dynamics
Article Tier 2

Breach of Security? Placental Uptake of Micro- and Nanoplastic Particles

This review examines emerging evidence for placental uptake of micro- and nanoplastic particles, exploring whether the placenta's barrier function can be breached by these contaminants during pregnancy. The review raises concerns about potential fetal exposure to plastic particles and the implications for developmental health.

2022 Environmental Health Perspectives 3 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A Systematic Review of the Placental Translocation of Micro- and Nanoplastics

Nine out of eleven studies confirmed that micro- and nanoplastics can cross the placental barrier, with translocation depending on particle size, charge, chemical modification, and protein corona formation. Animal and in vitro studies showed emerging evidence of placental and fetal toxicity from plastic particle exposure.

2023 Current Environmental Health Reports 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: A threat to Fetoplacental unit and Reproductive systems

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics may harm the placenta and reproductive system, particularly during pregnancy. The authors highlight that these tiny plastic particles have been found in placental tissue and may interfere with fetal development, though they note that much more research is needed to understand the full risks to mothers and babies.

2025 Toxicology Reports 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Placental-fetal distribution of carbon particles in a pregnant rabbit model after repeated exposure to diluted diesel engine exhaust

Researchers confirmed that carbon particles from diesel exhaust inhaled by pregnant rabbits travel from the lungs through the placenta and into fetal organs. This demonstrates that airborne particles — including nanoplastics and combustion soot — can cross the placental barrier during pregnancy, potentially altering fetal development.

2023 Particle and Fibre Toxicology 13 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Impact of prenatal micro/nanoplastics exposure on intrauterine development and growth: a systematic review

This systematic review examines how exposure to micro- and nanoplastics during pregnancy may affect fetal development and growth. The research gathered evidence showing that tiny plastic particles can reach the placenta and potentially disrupt normal intrauterine development. While more research is needed, these findings raise important questions about protecting pregnant women from microplastic exposure through food, water, and air.

2026 Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
Article Tier 2

Micro- and Nanoplastics and Fetal Health: Challenges in Assessment and Evidence from Epidemiological Studies

This review examines the emerging evidence that micro- and nanoplastics can reach the developing fetus during pregnancy, with animal studies showing potential effects on neurological development and placental blood flow. The study also highlights major challenges in accurately detecting and measuring these tiny particles in biological tissues from mothers and babies. The authors call for standardized methods and more human studies to better understand the risks of prenatal microplastic exposure.

2025 Toxics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastic inhalation during pregnancy: Impacts on uteroplacental function and offspring health

This review examined evidence that inhaled micro- and nanoplastics during pregnancy accumulate in placental and fetal tissues, impair uteroplacental blood flow and immune function, and are associated with adverse developmental outcomes in offspring, identifying inhalation as a critical but understudied exposure route.

2025 Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Perinatal Period: Emerging Evidence on Maternal Exposure, Placental Transfer, and Fetal Health Outcomes

This review summarizes emerging evidence that microplastics can cross the placenta and reach developing babies, having been detected in maternal blood, placental tissue, amniotic fluid, cord blood, and breast milk. The tiny plastic particles may damage the placenta, disrupt hormones, alter immune responses, and potentially affect fetal growth and brain development. While more research is needed, the findings raise serious concerns about microplastic exposure during pregnancy and its implications for infant health.

2025 Sarvodaya International Journal of Medicine 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing microplastics as a novel threat to maternal-fetal health: Placental barrier penetration and fetal developmental consequences

This review addressed how microplastics cross the placental barrier and affect fetal development, covering cellular responses in placental tissue, animal model findings, and limited human study data. The authors concluded that transplacental microplastic transfer is a plausible mechanism for intergenerational health effects.

2025 Reproductive Toxicology
Article Tier 2

The Invisible Threat: Microplastics in Human Blood and Placenta

This review summarized current evidence on microplastic detection in human blood and placenta, discussing what is known about how these particles enter the bloodstream and reach fetal tissue. The authors highlight the potential implications for maternal and fetal health.

2024 Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The Impact of Maternal Nanoplastic and Microplastic Particle Exposure on Mammal’s Offspring

This review summarizes research on how a mother's exposure to nanoplastics and microplastics during pregnancy can affect her developing baby. Studies show that these tiny plastic particles can cross the placenta and reach the fetus, potentially harming brain development, the reproductive system, metabolism, and the immune system of offspring. The review calls for more research using realistic exposure levels to better understand the risks of prenatal microplastic exposure to human babies.

2024 Cells 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Year 116 of the plastic age: a Pandora’s box as a time bomb for pregnancy? Review of clinical and fundamental data on prenatal exposure to plastics

This review examined evidence for micro- and nanoplastic presence in the human placenta and assessed implications for pregnancy outcomes, synthesizing in vitro, ex vivo, and epidemiological data. Multiple plastic types were detected in placental tissue from the basal plate to fetal membranes, and the authors raised concerns about placental dysfunction and fetal developmental risk.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Nano-scale dangers: Unravelling the impact of nanoplastics on human trophoblast invasion

Researchers exposed human trophoblast cells — which form the placenta — to 40 nm and 200 nm polystyrene nanoparticles and found that the smaller particles reduced expression of invasion-related proteins (integrins, N-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase-2) and impaired cell migration, suggesting nanoplastics may interfere with early placental development.

2024 Chemico-Biological Interactions 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on early-life health: a roadmap towards risk assessment

Researchers proposed a detailed risk assessment roadmap specifically for how micro- and nanoplastic exposure during pregnancy and early childhood could harm fetal and infant development, noting that these tiny particles have already been detected in human placentas. The framework identifies critical gaps in dosing data, detection methods, and placental transfer research needed before reliable safety conclusions can be drawn.

2024 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 25 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Placental Micro- and Nanoplastic Contamination: A Systematic Review of Eco-Exposome Pathways to Preterm Birth and Neonatal Outcomes

This systematic review examined evidence that micro- and nanoplastics have been found in human placentas and may be linked to preterm birth. The particles appear to cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of placental function through multiple molecular pathways, raising concerns about the impact of plastic pollution on pregnancy outcomes and newborn health.

2025
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics at the Placenta–Fetal Interface: Emerging Chemical Toxicology Concerns

Researchers reviewed how nanoplastics interact with trophoblasts at the placenta-fetal interface, identifying plastic additives, surface chemistry, and adsorbed protein coronas as drivers of oxidative stress and disrupted cellular function, and calling for advanced placental models to guide developmental toxicity risk assessment.

2026 Chemical Research in Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Particulate Contamination of Human Placenta: Plastic and non-plastic

Researchers characterized both plastic and non-plastic particulate contaminants found in human placental tissue from healthy pregnancies. They detected microplastics alongside other particles in placenta samples collected from both vaginal and caesarean deliveries at an urban Canadian hospital. The findings add to growing evidence that the human womb is exposed to a variety of environmental particulate contaminants during pregnancy.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro/Nanoplastic Exposure on Placental Health and Adverse Pregnancy Risks: Novel Assessment System Based upon Targeted Risk Assessment Environmental Chemicals Strategy

Using a new risk assessment framework, researchers evaluated 40 studies on how micro- and nanoplastics affect the placenta during pregnancy. They found a moderate-to-low risk of reproductive harm, with smaller particles posing greater danger by disrupting cell function and triggering cell death in placental tissue. These findings suggest that widespread plastic pollution could have implications for pregnancy health.

2024 Toxics 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Experimental human placental models for studying uptake, transport and toxicity of micro- and nanoplastics

This review describes experimental human placental models available for studying how micro- and nanoplastics cross the maternal-fetal barrier, including cell cultures, organ-on-chip devices, and tissue perfusion systems. Researchers note that while microplastics have been detected in human placenta, the potential effects on pregnancy and fetal development remain largely unexplored. The study identifies key knowledge gaps and calls for urgent research into the reproductive health risks of plastic particle exposure.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 73 citations
Review Tier 2

A review on micro- and nanoplastics in humans: Implication for their translocation of barriers and potential health effects

This review compiles evidence showing that micro- and nanoplastics have been found in human blood, lungs, placenta, and other organs, and can cross protective barriers including the blood-brain and placental barriers. The accumulated evidence links these particles to inflammation, oxidative stress, hormone disruption, and potential effects on reproduction and brain health, though more research is needed to determine exact risk levels.

2024 Chemosphere 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure of the human placental primary cells to nanoplastics induces cytotoxic effects, an inflammatory response and endocrine disruption

Scientists exposed human placental cells to polystyrene nanoparticles at concentrations found in human blood and observed cell death, inflammation, and disrupted hormone production, with smaller 20-nanometer particles causing more damage than larger ones. This is significant because the placenta is the critical barrier protecting developing babies, and these findings suggest nanoplastics may interfere with pregnancy hormones and placental function at real-world exposure levels.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations