Publication details
Advancing Microplastic Analysis in Biological Systems with LA-ICP-MS
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The pervasive disposal of plastic waste into the environment presents a substantial challenge for the coming decades, particularly concerning the monitoring and quantification of microplastics (MPs) across various environmental matrices and within living organisms. Microplastic contamination originates from multiple sources, including seafood, food additives, packaging materials, and industrial/agricultural products. Despite the recent detection of MPs in a broad spectrum of environmental media and biota, their dispersion mechanisms and toxicological impacts on humans remain inadequately understood. Emerging evidence suggests that microplastics, which can enter the human body through contaminated food or packaging materials, may pose significant risks to both human health and the environment.[1] Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) holds significant promise for identifying polymer alterations [2] and metal markers [3]. However, its direct application in detecting MPs has been limited to tracking trace metals adsorbed on MPs [4]. By enhancing the detectability and imaging of MPs in biological tissues, this research aims to open new pathways for monitoring MPs throughout the human body and assessing potential health effects. Additionally, integrating element-specific imaging from LA-ICP-MS could establish the "golden analytical standard" for µCT volumetry to precisely characterize the distribution of MPs within the organ systems of living organisms. Understanding how microplastics interact with biological systems is crucial to mitigating potential health risks. This short presentation focuses on imaging two sizes of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) MPs, artificially introduced into homogenized rat liver tissue, whole heart, and brain to simulate MPs accumulation. MPs were directly imaged by analyzing 121Sb and 59Co as metal markers in the form of MPs additives. |
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