Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood

1. How do you detect and quantify microplastics?
2. Can you remove microplastics from blood?
3. How many microplastic particles was found in 10g of human faeces?
4. How do microplastics enter the human body?

How do you detect and quantify microplastics?

Following extraction, visual counting with an optical microscope is the most common technique for quantifying microplastics; a technique that is labour intensive and prone to human error. Spectroscopy (FTIR; Raman) are the most commonly applied techniques for identifying polymers collected through visual sorting.

Can you remove microplastics from blood?

To get the microplastics out of blood, more needs to be done to remove them permanently from water. A new line of inquiry focuses on using non-toxic chemicals (think plants) to pull microplastics out of the waterways.

How many microplastic particles was found in 10g of human faeces?

A median of 20 microplastics (50 to 500 µm in size) per 10 g of human stool were identified. Overall, 9 plastic types were detected, with polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate being the most abundant.

How do microplastics enter the human body?

Microplastics can enter the human body through ingestion and inhalation where they may be taken up in various organs and might affect health, for example, by damaging cells or inducing inflammatory and immune reactions.