Environmental Research Group, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Part Fibre Toxicol. 2024 Apr 2;21(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12989-024-00581-x.
Micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNP) are omnipresent as either pollution or intentionally used in consumer products, released from packaging or even food. There is an exponential increase in the production of plastics. With the realization of bioaccumulation in humans, toxicity research is quickly expanding. There is a rapid increase in the number of papers published on the potential implications of exposure to MNP which necessitates a call for quality criteria to be applied when doing the research. At present, most papers on MNP describe the effects of commercially available polymer (mostly polystyrene) beads that are typically not the MNP of greatest concern. This is not a fault of the research community, necessarily, as the MNPs to which humans are exposed are usually not available in the quantities needed for toxicological research and innovations are needed to supply environmentally-relevant MNP models. In addition, like we have learned from decades of research with particulate matter and engineered nanomaterials, sample physicochemical characteristics and preparation can have major impacts on the biological responses and interpretation of the research findings. Lastly, MNP dosimetry may pose challenges as (1) we are seeing early evidence that plastics are already in the human body at quite high levels that may be difficult to achieve in acute in vitro studies and (2) plastics are already in the diets fed to preclinical models. This commentary highlights the pitfalls and recommendations for particle and fibre toxicologists that should be considered when performing and disseminating the research.
微塑料和纳米塑料颗粒（MNP）无处不在，无论是作为污染物存在，还是作为消费品中的有意添加物，它们会从包装材料甚至食物中释放出来。塑料的产量呈指数级增长。随着人类体内生物累积的认识不断深入，毒性研究也在迅速扩展。有关暴露于 MNP 潜在影响的研究论文数量迅速增加，这就需要呼吁在进行研究时应用质量标准。目前，大多数关于 MNP 的论文都描述了商业上可用的聚合物（主要是聚苯乙烯）珠粒的影响，而这些珠粒通常不是最令人关注的 MNP。这不一定是研究界的过错，因为人类接触到的 MNP 通常无法以进行毒理学研究所需的数量获得，并且需要创新来提供与环境相关的 MNP 模型。此外，正如我们从数十年对颗粒物和工程纳米材料的研究中了解到的那样，样品的理化特性和制备方法可能会对研究结果的生物学反应和解释产生重大影响。最后，MNP 剂量测定可能具有挑战性，因为 (1) 我们已经有早期证据表明，塑料已经在人体中达到相当高的水平，这在急性体外研究中可能难以实现，(2) 塑料已经存在于临床前模型所喂食的饮食中。本评论强调了颗粒和纤维毒理学家在进行和传播研究时应考虑的陷阱和建议。
