Category Archives: Microplastics & Environmental Health

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are widespread environmental pollutants of growing concern due to their persistence and impacts on ecosystems and human health. Their small size, chemical complexity, and low environmental concentrations make accurate detection and quantification challenging. Single-particle (sp) ICP-MS has emerged as a promising technique for sizing and quantifying small MNPs based on their elemental content, yet the performance of different ICP-MS instrument types remains…

The wide use of plastic materials leads to increased emissions of micro-nanoplastics (MNPs) into the environment, raising significant concerns about their impact on human health. Traditional experimental approaches for assessing MNPs toxicity are costly, time-consuming, and there are no experimental protocols that are universally acceptable. Computational modeling using machine learning (ML) approaches provides an efficient alternative to MNP toxicity assessment. However, most modeling studies…

Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPLs) are known to enter the human body and accumulate within different tissues. As MNPLs have been shown to exert toxic effects in vivo, we aimed to evaluate the link between MNPLs and colorectal cancer tumorigenesis. A literature review was conducted, using Ovid MEDLINE and PubMed databases. MeSH terms “colorectal carcinoma” and “microplastic” were the foundations for the search strategy. Forty-one studies were initially identified, of which fourteen were…

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first evidence of microplastics within human urolithiasis. The consistent detection of common environmental polymers supports the hypothesis that microplastics and nanoplastics may act as nucleation substrates or become entrapped during stone crystallization. Given the rising global prevalence of urolithiasis, these findings implicate environmental plastic exposure as a novel contributor to stone pathogenesis and underscore the importance of investigating…

Plastic particles have been detected in human testicular tissue, raising concerns about potential effects on male reproductive health. This systematic review synthesizes experimental evidence from mammalian in vitro and in vivo studies evaluating the effects of MNP exposure on Leydig cell structure and function. A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science identified 19 eligible studies. Study selection, data extraction, and risk-of-bias assessment were performed…

Ingested environmental micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) may represent an emerging systemic health concern. Although toxicological research has mainly focused on the gastrointestinal tract, increasing evidence suggests that the highly vascularized bone marrow may also be a relevant site for MNP accumulation. This narrative review proposes a “gut-immune-bone” axis linking intestinal barrier disruption, systemic translocation, and potential deposition within the bone marrow niche. Current…

Micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) can enter the human body through inhalation, ingestion, contact with consumer products, and iatrogenic routes. The clinical relevance of MNP exposure should be interpreted at three levels: barrier interaction, cellular stress, and system-level disruption, with key mechanisms including oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and chronic inflammation.

The detrimental effects of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) on human health have been the subject of intense research in recent years, but there is little data on how MNPs affect intestinal health. Six participants with colonic or terminal ileal erosion were enrolled, and one erosive tissue sample plus one adjacent non-erosive tissue sample were collected from each participant. Pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was utilized to determine the MNP content of these tissues…

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are ubiquitous contaminants, but their implications for human internal exposure, biological effects, and health risk assessment remain incompletely defined. Although many reviews summarize environmental occurrence and ecological impacts, fewer integrate human exposure pathways with mechanistic toxicological evidence and safety-relevant uncertainties. This review synthesizes evidence on inhalation, ingestion, and dermal exposure, emphasizing particle…

Micro/nanoplastics are quietly infiltrating human bodies through dietary intake, water consumption, and dermal exposure. Here, we assessed the interaction of nanoplastics (NPs) with β-amyloid (Aβ), helping to understand the likely mechanisms of NPs accumulation in brain and potential impacts on Alzheimer’s disease (AD). SH-SY5Y cells served as an in vitro model of AD and were treated with fluorescently labeled NPs (NPf). In in vivo study, 5XFAD mice were fed with environmentally relevant doses…