Kim Kyung Soo, Min Hyun Jin
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
J Rhinol. 2024 Nov;31(3):151-155. doi: 10.18787/jr.2024.00027. Epub 2024 Nov 30.
Microplastics, which originate from the breakdown of larger plastic fragments or are intentionally produced for industrial applications, pose significant human and ecological risks through inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact. Our study examined the release of microplastics during the preparation of homemade saline solutions, specifically when tearing open powder packets and mixing the powder with water.
We used commercially available polypropylene nasal irrigation bottles from the Korean market and collected six samples of nasal irrigation fluids. The samples were categorized into two groups: the control group comprised three samples, without sodium chloride powder, while the powder-added group consisted of three experimental samples, where a sachet of sodium chloride powder was mixed into the water to achieve a 0.9% sodium chloride concentration. The preparation involved cooling boiled water before mixing in the powder sachet. A Raman XploRA Plus confocal microscope was used for the detection and analysis of microplastics.
We observed 17, 56, and 26 microplastic particles in the control group samples, with a mean of 33.00±20.42, and 7, 6, and 34 microplastic particles in the powder-added group, with a mean of 15.66±15.88. There was no significant difference in microplastic content between the groups. Analysis revealed that the control samples contained 66 fragments (67%) and 33 fibers (33%), while the powder-added samples contained 45 fragments (96%) and two fibers (4%). We identified three types of polymers: polypropylene (control: 96, powder-added: 41), polyethylene (control: 2, powder-added: 3), and polyethylene terephthalate (control: 1, powder-added: 3).
Our findings indicate that adding sodium chloride powder to nasal irrigation fluids does not significantly alter microplastic release, highlighting the importance of considering potential microplastic pollution from common medical devices.
微塑料源于较大塑料碎片的分解或为工业应用而有意生产，可通过吸入、摄入和皮肤接触对人类和生态造成重大风险。我们的研究调查了自制盐溶液制备过程中微塑料的释放情况，特别是撕开粉剂包装并将粉剂与水混合时的情况。
我们使用了韩国市场上的商用聚丙烯鼻腔冲洗瓶，并收集了六个鼻腔冲洗液样本。样本分为两组：对照组包括三个不含氯化钠粉剂的样本，而添加粉剂组由三个实验样本组成，其中将一小袋氯化钠粉剂混入水中以达到0.9%的氯化钠浓度。制备过程包括在混入粉剂袋之前冷却煮沸的水。使用拉曼XploRA Plus共聚焦显微镜对微塑料进行检测和分析。
我们在对照组样本中观察到17、56和26个微塑料颗粒，平均值为33.00±20.42，在添加粉剂组中观察到7、6和34个微塑料颗粒，平均值为15.66±15.88。两组之间的微塑料含量没有显著差异。分析表明，对照样本包含66个碎片（67%）和33根纤维（33%），而添加粉剂的样本包含45个碎片（96%）和两根纤维（4%）。我们鉴定出三种聚合物类型：聚丙烯（对照：96，添加粉剂：41）、聚乙烯（对照：2，添加粉剂：3）和聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（对照：1，添加粉剂：3）。
我们的研究结果表明，向鼻腔冲洗液中添加氯化钠粉剂不会显著改变微塑料的释放，这凸显了考虑常见医疗设备潜在微塑料污染的重要性。
