Impact of micro-nano plastics in daily life on human health: toxicological evaluation from the perspective of normal tissue cells and organoids

Abstract

Plastics are the most frequently used materials in people’s daily life, and the primary and secondary microplastics generated from them may harm the health of adults. This paper focuses on the summary of the existence of microplastics in many objects most closely related to people in daily life, the toxicological influences it causes in cultured human normal cells and organoids, and the prospects for future research directions. Micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) are found in almost all of our everyday products, such as food, drink, and daily necessities, etc. It can enter the digestive tract, respiratory system, and body fluids of the human body, and at lower or equal environment concentrations exhibits obvious cytotoxicity and genotoxicity toward cells and organoids, probably becoming a kind of toxin affecting human health. In addition, due to MNPs can be transferred from the placenta to the embryo, long-term growth-tracking studies of newborns should be done vitally. Besides, due to their wide usability in daily products and the ability to penetrate cytomembranes, the toxicological effects of polyethylene and polypropylene nanoplastic particles equal to or lower than environmental (normal exposure to human body) concentrations are recommended to be studied on human health in the future. Finally, for those individuals who carry MNPs, long-term health evaluation must be performed.