Review of microplastics fate in humans with a focus on the urinary system | |
| Author | Hussain, Ahmed |
| Call Number | AIT RSPR no.MPA-22-04 |
| Subject(s) | Microplastics--Environmental aspects Urinary organs |
| Note | A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Marine Plastics Abatement |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The prominence of microplastics as an emerging pollutant of concern, has made their studies in various environmental bodies a vital research concern to many researchers all over the world. Today microplastics can be found from the deepest of the oceans to soil, water bodies, lakes, canals, artic ice caps, etc. Microplastics are often consumed by animals directly or indirectly in the food chain, for example in marine trophic chains where small fish eat pollutants like microplastics and they are eaten by big fish, making their way into human consumption. The higher we go on food chain the concentration of pollutants increases. In this study microplastics were assessed and their fate was reviewed the in human body focusing on urinary system from a literature perspective. To trace the pathway of microplastics in the human body, 9 morning urine samples were collected from 9 healthy individuals following a contamination free sample collection protocol. The samples were filtered on a cellulose acetate filter of pore size 0.45 μm. The filtration process was setup under laminar hood cabinet to prevent any external contamination from microplastics present in air. The samples were then dried and dyed from Nile Red. A dye that results in florescence of non-polar molecules under UV light, in this case microplastics. Samples were analyzed under Olympus fluorescence microscope that was able to capture images and provide measurements of microplastic particles in the samples. To compare the results, total 6 controls were made. 3 positive controls made up of microbeads and microfibers and 3 negative controls made from distilled water of same volumes of the samples. And same experiment setup and procedure was followed to minimize the differences between actual samples and controls as much as possible. Evidences of microplastics were found in 7 out of 9 samples in the form of microparticles with an average median diameter of 14.5 μm, ranging from minimum diameter of 3.04 μm to maximum diameter of 93.90 μm and microfibers with an average median length of 259.33 μm ranging from minimum length of 128.24um to maximum length of 1127.47 μm. The negative controls showed absence of microplastics highlighting the adequate management of the samples, whether the microplastics identified have followed ingestion track through the body and excreted in the urine through the kidney remains to be further investigated. |
| Year | 2022 |
| Type | Research Study Project Report (RSPR) |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Marine Plastic Abatement (MPA) |
| Chairperson(s) | Guerrero Cruz, Simon |
| Examination Committee(s) | Ekbordin Winijkul;Tatchai Pussayanavin |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Japan |
| Degree | Research studies project report (M.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2022 |