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Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics’ journey into the gut : human exposure to microplastics and associated chemicals
ClearExposure to microplastic associated chemicals upon oral consumption of microplastics
This thesis quantified the release of plastic-associated chemical contaminants from microplastics during simulated human digestion, measuring how much of these chemicals actually leach out under stomach and intestinal conditions. The research helps estimate the chemical exposure humans receive when they ingest microplastics through food and water.
Weight of Evidence for the Microplastic Vector Effect in the Context of Chemical Risk Assessment
This study critically evaluates the evidence for microplastics acting as vectors that increase organism exposure to plastic-associated chemicals, finding that the vector effect is generally minor compared to other exposure routes in realistic environmental scenarios.
Evaluating microplastic particles as vectors of exposure for plastic additive chemicals using a food web model
Researchers used a bioaccumulation model to estimate how much chemical exposure humans and wildlife receive specifically from ingesting microplastic particles — versus other environmental routes — and found that microplastics only become a meaningful source of chemical additives when ingestion rates are high and the plastic contains substantial concentrations of hydrophobic chemicals. The work helps clarify when microplastics are a significant chemical vector, finding that health risks from this pathway are likely negligible at currently estimated ingestion rates.
Multiple Effects, Pathways, and Potential Health Risks from Environmental Microplastic Exposure
This review synthesizes nearly two decades of research on the multiple pathways through which environmental microplastics affect human and ecological health, including chemical toxicity, physical impacts, and potential roles as carriers of pathogens and contaminants.
Marine microplastics as vectors of major ocean pollutants and its hazards to the marine ecosystem and humans
Researchers reviewed how microplastics in the ocean act as "hitchhikers" for other pollutants — absorbing and carrying heavy metals, pesticides, and chemicals into marine food webs and ultimately toward humans. While direct proof of microplastic harm to humans is still limited, the accumulated evidence of toxic chemical transport through seafood and drinking water raises serious concern.
Microplastics as a Vector of Hazardous Contaminants: Plastic Chemicals, Digestive Physiology and the Need for Chemical Simplification
This review explored how microplastics serve as vectors for hazardous chemicals, distinguishing between plastic-associated chemicals added during manufacturing and environmental pollutants adsorbed onto particle surfaces. The authors argue that the chemical burden of ingested microplastics warrants much more rigorous toxicological assessment.
Occurrence and Fate of Emerging Contaminants with Microplastics Current Scenario, Sources and Effects
This review chapter covers the current state of microplastic contamination across marine and terrestrial environments, explaining how microplastics act as vectors for other pollutants — including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and heavy metals — that accumulate on their surfaces. These contaminant-laden particles are consumed by marine organisms and travel up the food chain, reaching human food sources. The work underscores that microplastics are not just a physical hazard but also a chemical delivery system that amplifies the toxic burden on ecosystems and people.
Exposure and Health Effects of Microplastics in Humans
This doctoral thesis investigates exposure levels and health effects of microplastics in humans, synthesizing analytical chemistry and toxicological evidence on microplastic presence in human tissues and their potential biological impacts.
Microplastic as a Vector for Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment: Critical Review and Model-Supported Reinterpretation of Empirical Studies
Researchers critically reviewed the widespread hypothesis that microplastics transfer harmful chemicals to marine animals after being ingested. Using new modeling calculations, they found that for most organisms in most scenarios, the contribution of microplastics to chemical exposure is actually very small compared to what animals absorb through water and food. The study suggests that while microplastics are a legitimate environmental concern, their role as a significant chemical delivery vehicle has been overstated in much of the scientific literature.
Nano- and microplastics in the environment : presence, effects and their role as a Trojan horse for other pollutants
This thesis reviews the presence and effects of nano- and microplastics in the environment, examining how they act as carriers for other pollutants and discussing their potential health impacts on ecosystems and humans.
Microplastics as a vehicle of exposure to chemical contamination in freshwater systems: Current research status and way forward
This review assessed the current state of research on microplastics as vectors for chemical contaminants in freshwater systems, evaluating evidence for and against the vector hypothesis and identifying the most important knowledge gaps, including the need for studies at environmentally realistic concentrations.
Microplastics serve as a potential vector for the transfer of naphthalene from freshwater to the human gastrointestinal system
Researchers investigated whether microplastics can transfer the pollutant naphthalene from freshwater into the human gastrointestinal system. The study examined three types of microplastics and found they can adsorb naphthalene from water and subsequently release it under simulated digestive conditions, suggesting microplastics may act as vectors that carry environmental contaminants into the human body through ingested water or food.
Micro(Nano)Plastics as Carriers of Toxic Agents and Their Impact on Human Health
This review compiles evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics act as carriers of potentially toxic agents and enter the human body through inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption. Evidence indicates that continuous exposure to these particles can lead to bioaccumulation and negative health alterations, with recent research detecting microplastics even in human placental tissue.
Microplastics as a Serious Challenge in Marine Environment
This review summarizes how microplastics accumulate in marine environments, acting as carriers for other toxic chemicals and posing health risks to marine organisms and the humans who eat them. The paper highlights the dual threat of microplastics as both physical contaminants and vectors for co-pollutants.
Bioaccessibility of plastic-related compounds from polymeric particles in marine settings: Are microplastics the principal vector of phthalate ester congeners and bisphenol A towards marine vertebrates?
Researchers studied whether microplastics are a major pathway for delivering harmful plastic chemicals like phthalates and bisphenol A to marine animals during digestion. They found that while microplastics do release these compounds under simulated gut conditions, the amounts were relatively low compared to other environmental sources. The study suggests that microplastics may not be the primary route of chemical exposure for marine vertebrates, though they still contribute to the overall burden.
Plastics, microplastics, and human contamination: A literature review
This literature review synthesizes research on human contamination by plastics and microplastics, covering ingestion, inhalation, and dermal exposure routes and summarizing documented health effects across organ systems.
Micro- and nanoplastics: origin, sources of intake and impact on human health (literature review)
This literature review synthesizes mechanisms by which micro- and nanoplastics interact with living organisms, examining their physicochemical properties, routes of human exposure, and documented health effects across multiple organ systems.
Microplastics - an emerging silent menace to public health
This mini-review summarises routes of microplastic entry into the human body and examines potential health effects, highlighting trophic transfer as an important exposure pathway and noting that the full extent of microplastic toxicity to human health remains an active area of concern.
Microplastics: Current Status in the Environment and Human Health Risks: A Comprehensive Review
This comprehensive review covers the sources, environmental distribution, food chain entry, and human health risks of microplastics, with particular attention to their role as vectors for chemical pollutants and pathogens. It highlights regulatory gaps and emerging mitigation approaches across terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric systems.
Micro(nano)plastics: Unignorable vectors for organisms
This review examines the role of micro- and nanoplastics as vectors for contaminants — including heavy metals, organic pollutants, and pathogens — in aquatic and terrestrial environments. It synthesizes evidence on how plastic particles can adsorb, transport, and release harmful substances, amplifying their ecological and health risks beyond the physical effects of the particles alone.
Quantifying theEffect of Dietary Microplastics onthe Potential for Biological Uptake of Environmental Contaminantsand Polymer Additives
Researchers modeled how the presence of dietary microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract influences the thermodynamic driving force for diffusion of organic contaminants and polymer additives from the gut lumen into biological tissues, determining whether microplastics act as contaminant vectors or sinks depending on relative contamination levels. The study found that microplastics can either facilitate or inhibit biological uptake of co-ingested contaminants based on the sorptive capacity of the plastic relative to the dietary matrix.
Microplastics in ecosystems and health
This review summarizes how microplastics originate from degrading macroplastics and intentionally manufactured products, describes their impacts on marine organisms and human health, and surveys emerging recycling technologies and regulatory responses. It provides a useful plain-language synthesis of why microplastics are a dual environmental-and-health problem, acting both as physical contaminants and as vectors for toxic chemicals.
Microplastics in the human body: A comprehensive review of exposure, distribution, migration mechanisms, and toxicity
This comprehensive review pulls together research on how microplastics enter the human body through food, air, and skin contact, and where they accumulate in organs and tissues. The review discusses how particle size determines whether microplastics can cross biological barriers like the gut lining and blood-brain barrier. The authors conclude that microplastics pose significant health risks and call for more research into their long-term effects.
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.