{"title":"Health Implications of Widespread Micro- and Nanoplastic Exposure: Environmental Prevalence, Mechanisms, and Biological Impact on Humans.","authors":"Olivia-Teodora Preda, Ana-Maria Vlasceanu, Cristina Veronica Andreescu, Aristidis Tsatsakis, Yaroslav Mezhuev, Carolina Negrei, Daniela Luiza Baconi","doi":"10.3390/toxics12100730","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The increasing awareness of the potential health risks associated with microplastics' (MPs) and nanoplastics' (NPs) presence in the environment has led to a significant rise in research focused on these particles over the past few years. This review focuses on the research on MPs'/NPs' presence and spread, pathways of exposure, toxicological effects on human health and legal framework related to MP/NP challenges. Several research projects have aimed to assess their potential harm to human health, focusing on different systems and organs. After exposure (independent of the pathway), these hazards reach the blood stream and concentrate in different organs. Further, they are responsible for harmful changes, having an immediate effect (pain, inflammation, or hormone imbalance) or lead to a long-term disease (e.g., infertility, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or cancer). Toxicological effects have been noticed at high concentrations of MPs, specifically polystyrene, the most widespread typical MP, but only short-term effects have been mostly studied. Significant quantities of consumed MPs have been discovered to have diverse detrimental effects, posing a threat to human welfare. The exact concentrations of microplastics that are inhaled and swallowed and then build up in the human body are still not known. Further investigation is necessary to evaluate the impact of MP/NP contamination at minimal concentrations and for prolonged durations.</p>","PeriodicalId":23195,"journal":{"name":"Toxics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11511527/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Toxics","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12100730","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The increasing awareness of the potential health risks associated with microplastics' (MPs) and nanoplastics' (NPs) presence in the environment has led to a significant rise in research focused on these particles over the past few years. This review focuses on the research on MPs'/NPs' presence and spread, pathways of exposure, toxicological effects on human health and legal framework related to MP/NP challenges. Several research projects have aimed to assess their potential harm to human health, focusing on different systems and organs. After exposure (independent of the pathway), these hazards reach the blood stream and concentrate in different organs. Further, they are responsible for harmful changes, having an immediate effect (pain, inflammation, or hormone imbalance) or lead to a long-term disease (e.g., infertility, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or cancer). Toxicological effects have been noticed at high concentrations of MPs, specifically polystyrene, the most widespread typical MP, but only short-term effects have been mostly studied. Significant quantities of consumed MPs have been discovered to have diverse detrimental effects, posing a threat to human welfare. The exact concentrations of microplastics that are inhaled and swallowed and then build up in the human body are still not known. Further investigation is necessary to evaluate the impact of MP/NP contamination at minimal concentrations and for prolonged durations.
ToxicsChemical Engineering-Chemical Health and Safety
CiteScore
4.50
自引率
10.90%
发文量
681
审稿时长
6 weeks
期刊介绍:
The Journal accepts papers describing work that furthers our understanding of the exposure, effects, and risks of chemicals and materials in humans and the natural environment as well as approaches to assess and/or manage the toxicological and ecotoxicological risks of chemicals and materials. The journal covers a wide range of toxic substances, including metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, biocides, nanomaterials, and polymers such as micro- and mesoplastics. Toxics accepts papers covering:
The occurrence, transport, and fate of chemicals and materials in different systems (e.g., food, air, water, soil);
Exposure of humans and the environment to toxic chemicals and materials as well as modelling and experimental approaches for characterizing the exposure in, e.g., water, air, soil, food, and consumer products;
Uptake, metabolism, and effects of chemicals and materials in a wide range of systems including in-vitro toxicological assays, aquatic and terrestrial organisms and ecosystems, model mammalian systems, and humans;
Approaches to assess the risks of chemicals and materials to humans and the environment;
Methodologies to eliminate or reduce the exposure of humans and the environment to toxic chemicals and materials.