Table 2.
Presence of micro- and nano-plastics in human tissues or fluids.
| Human body sample | Digestion methods | Detection method | Sample Number | Type | Shape | Abundance | Size (μm) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lung | H2O2 (30%, v/v) | μ-FTIR, Raman | 100 | Cotton, rayon, PE | Fiber (>90%) | Tumor tissues: 38 particles/50 samples, normal tissues: 27 particles/50 samples |
1,450 ± 980 | [86] |
| Lung | Enzymatic | Raman | 20 | PP (35.1%), PE (24.3%), cotton (16.2%) | Fragment (87.5%), fiber (12.5%), | 0.56 particles/g of lung tissue | Fragment: 1.60–5.56 fiber: 8.12–16.80 | [30] |
| Lung | 30% H2O2 | μ-FTIR | 13 | PP (23%), PET (18%), resin (15%) | Fragment (67%), fiber (22%) | 1.42 ± 1.50 particles/g | 12–2,475 | [120] |
| Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid | No | μ-FTIR | 44 | Rayon (40.48%), PE (19.05%), cellulose (16.67%) | Fiber (97.06%) | 9.18 ± 2.45 particles/100 mL | 1,730 ± 150 | [87] |
| Sputum | HNO3, NaOH | FTIR | 22 | PU, PE, PVC | – | 18.75−91.75 particles/10 mL | 20–500 | [29] |
| Sputum | 30% KOH | Polarized light microscopy | 16 | Couriers: PC (24.2%), PVC (23.0%); office staff: PVC (39.1%), PA (24.8%) | Couriers: fiber (94.3%), office staff: fiber (83.3%) | Couriers: 26.9−161.5 particles/g Office staff: 0.4−1.4 particles/g |
– | [88] |
| Nasal lavage fluid | 30% KOH | FTIR | 16 | Couriers: PA (25.3%), PE (22.9%); office staff: PVC (41.1%), PA (31.6%) | Couriers: Fiber (83.8%); office staff: fiber (87%) | Couriers:17.6−728.6 particles/g; office staff: 0.9−3.3 particles/g | – | [88] |
| Human blooda | Proteinase K | Py-GC/MS | 22 | PET, PE | – | 1.6 μg/mL | ≥0.7 | [32] |
| Thrombi | 30% KOH | Raman | 26 | LDPE | Fragment | 1 particle/26 sample | ∼5 | [33] |
| Liver, spleen, kidney | KOH | Raman | Liver (11), spleen (3), kidney (3) | PS, PVC, PET | – | 1.4 particles/g | 4–30 | [35] |
| Placenta | 10% KOH | Raman | 43 | PE, PS | Film, fiber, fragment | Normal: 6 particles/30 sample IUGR: 302 particles/13 sample |
Normal:7.3−27.6 IUGR: 2.9−34.5 |
[138] |
| Placenta | 10% KOH | Raman | 6 | PP | Fragment | 4 particles/6 placentas | ∼5–10 | [36] |
| Breast milk | 10% KOH | Raman | 34 | PE (38%), PVC (21%), PP (17%) | Fragment | 26 particles/34 samples | 2–12 | [176] |
| Human colectomy | 10% KOH | FTIR | 11 | PC, PA, PP | Fiber (96.1%), | 28.1 ± 15.4 particles/g | 800−1,600 | [31] |
| Adult stoola | H2O2 30%, | FTIR | 26 | PET, PP, PS | – | 1−36 particles/g | 20–800 | [97] |
| Infant stoola | KOH | LC–MS/MS | 6 | PET, PC | – | PET: 5,700−82,000 ng/g PC: 49−2,100 ng/g |
– | [27] |
| Meconiuma | KOH | LC–MS/MS | 3 | PET, PC | – | PET: 3,200−12,000 ng/g PC: 110 ng/g |
– | |
| Adult stool | FTIR | 8 | PP (62.8%), PET (17.0%), PS (11.2%) | 20 particles/10 g | 50–500 | [96] | ||
| Adult stoola | KOH | LC–MS/MS | 10 | PET, PC | – | PET: <16,000 ng/g PC: 37−620 ng/g |
– | [27] |
| Urine | KOH | Raman | 6 | PP, PE, PVC, PVA | Fragment | – | 4–15 | [34] |
PU, polyether urethane; PC, polycarbonate; Py-GC/MS, pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; LC–MS/MS, liquid chromatography–tandem masa spectrometry; IUGR, intrauterine growth restriction.
a
Mass concentrations.