Table 2.

Presence of M-NPLs particles in human samples

Human Tissue/sample	Sample Collection	Type of M-NPLs Detected	Size	Quantity	Detection Method	Filter size	Reference
Blood	Whole blood was obtained by venipuncture from 22 anonymized, healthy, non-fasting adult volunteers	PMMA (methyl methacrylate), PP (2,4-dimethyl-1-heptene), PS (styrene), PS (styrene trimer), PE (1-decene), PE (1-undecene), PET (dimethyl terephthalate)	≥700 nm	1.6 μg/mL (Mean quantifiable concentration)	Double shot pyrolysis - gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS)	Filtered through a glass fiber filter with a 25 mm diameter and a 700 nm mesh size.	Leslie et al., 2022122
Lungs	13 lung tissue samples	Polyacrylonitril (PAN), polyethylene (PE), polyester (PES), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polypropylene (PP); PS, polystyrene (PS), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyurethane (PUR), styrene-ethylene-butylene co-polymer (SEBS), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE)	≥3 μm	39 MPLs were identified within 11 of the 13 lung tissue samples with an average of 1.42 ± 1.50 MP/g of tissue	μFTIR spectroscopy	The mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detector, which was cooled, enabled precise particle analysis up to a 3 μm size range.	Jenner et al., 202261
Lungs	20 Pulmonary tissue samples from a left lung non-smokers dead individual (mostly due to respiratory system problems)	Polypropylene, Cotton, Polyethylene, Cellulose acetate, Polyvinyl chloride, Polyethylene-co-polypropylene, Polystyrene, Polystyrene-co-polyvinyl chloride, Polyamide	Polymeric (<5.5 μm), Fibers (8.12-16.8 μm)	Polymeric particles (n = 33) & fibers (n = 4) were observed in 13/20 in a mean weight of 3.28 g tissue samples.	Raman spectroscopy	25 mm diameter & 0.45 μm pore size silver membrane filter	Amato-Lourenço et al., 202183
Sputum	Sputum samples from 22 patients suffering from respiratory diseases	21 types: Acrylates, acrylonitrile butadiene, alkyd varnish, ethylene vinyl acetate, polyacetal, polybutadiene, polyester, polyethylene Chlorinated polyethylene, polyimide, chlorinated polyisoprene, polymethylmethacrylate, polypropylene, polysulfones, polyurethane, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylchloride, rubber, silicone, polycarbonate, polytetrafluoroethylene	20−500 μm	The median (interquartile range, IQR) level of the total number of microplastics was 39.5 particles/10 mL (18.75–91.75 particles/10 mL)	optical microscope (HDS200G stereoscopic microscope, Agilent 8700 laser infrared imaging spectrometer, and Fouriertransform infrared microscope	0.45 μm pore silver membrane and particles larger than 100 μm on the filter were screened.	Huang et al., 202284
Saliva, Head Hairs, Face skin, Hand skin	8000 samples from 2000 participants	Polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride,	(Length (L) ≤ 100 μm; 100 < L ≤ 250 μm; 250 < L ≤ 500 μm; L > 500 μm)	16,000 particles/8000 samples, (>7000, or, on average, >3.5 MPLs per individual per day)	Binocular Microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy	2 μm Blue band filters (s&S)	Abbasi, et al., 2021126
Placenta	6 human placentas from women with physiological pregnancies	Polypropylene (Particles 2, 10, and 11), Paint/coating/dye MPLs (Particles 1, 3–9, and 12)	5–10 μm	12 fragments in a 23-gram sample out of the total ∼600 g of Placenta	Optical Microscopy for detection and morphological characterization of MPLs, Raman Micro-spectroscopy analysis for identification	Whatman GF/A Filter membrane with 1.6 μm pore size	Ragusa et al., 2021127
Stool	Stool samples from 8 individuals	PA = polyamide; PC = polycarbonate; PE = polyethylene; PET = polyethylene terephthalate; POM = polyoxymethylene; PP = polypropylene; PS = polystyrene; PU = polyurethane; PVC = polyvinyl chloride	50–500 μm	median microplastic concentration was 20 pieces (IQR, 18 to 172 pieces) per 10 g of stool.	Fouriertransform infrared (FT-IR) micro-spectroscopy	50-μm metal sieve,1 sample per individual, smaller or larger than 50-500 μm were not detected	Schwabl et al., 2019128