A recent study discovered that nanoplastics can accumulate in growing hearts, raising health concerns.
Meiru Wang, a scientist from Leiden University, studied the impact of nanoplastics on chicken embryos. According to a report from Interesting Engineering, the scientists tracked the dispersion of polystyrene nanoparticles in the embryo by injecting them.
Wang said that they were injecting plastic nanoparticles "intravenously for the first time to study their biodistribution across multiple organs." They found that nanoplastics may breach blood artery walls and concentrate in the heart and liver. He noted that the kidneys discharge some nanoplastics. Nanoplastics were also included in vascular heart cushions, which lack blood vessels.
The expert said nanoplastics may enter the heart through microscopic pores in growing tissue that shape it.
Implications on Human Embryos
The study used chicken embryos because they are genetically comparable to humans. Since 60% of chicken embryos' protein-coding genes are human, they can resemble human tissues in experiments that cannot utilize mammals.
Nanoplastics are everywhere in the seas, soil, and food chains. Previous research identified nanoplastics in human placentas. This study examined what occurs when nanoplastics enter an embryo's circulation.
According to Wang, previous research indicated that high nano plastic concentrations could result in "heart, eye, and nervous system malformations in chicken embryos." He stressed the need to understand the distribution of nanoplastics to comprehend their toxicity.
The study's findings aid nanomedicine and toxicity assessment by studying nanoplastics' interactions with tissues in living creatures.
Wang noted that past analyses have linked nanoparticles to heart attack and stroke risk. With a better understanding of how nanoplastics spread in the body, experts can "start examining health risks," he added.
Technology has improved researchers' capacity to identify and study nanoplastics, which are more easily spread than microplastics over vast distances and in various settings. They infiltrate cells and tissues more easily because of their small size, which may have acute toxicological consequences.
When ingested, nanoplastics can travel through the body, as past studies found nanoplastics in human blood, liver, lung, placenta, and testes. Researchers are quantifying these exposures to determine their impact.
According to The Conversation, nanoplastics are found in air, seas, snow, and soil worldwide. Researchers have detected microplastics from Mount Everest to the ocean's deepest abyss, but nanoplastics seem more widespread.
Clothing, food and beverage packaging, home furnishings, plastic bags, toys, and personal hygiene products degrade into nanoplastics. Sunlight or mechanical wear might cause this deterioration. Body washes and shampoos can emit nanoplastics.
However, due to plastic's widespread usage, preventing the spread of nanoplastic remains a significant challenge.
Promising Tech to Get Rid of Nanoplastics
On a positive note, a promising new method from the University of Waterloo removes hazardous nanoplastics from polluted water sources, as TechTimes previously reported.
The University of Waterloo research team, led by polymer engineering professor Tizazu Mekonnen, has created a unique nanoplastic pollution treatment for wastewater systems. They manufacture activated carbon from waste epoxy, a non-recyclable material destined for landfills.
Mekonnen believes the technology has "the potential to significantly reduce the plastics industry's carbon footprint."
The researchers thermally decomposed epoxy into activated carbon, a porous nanoplastic-trapping substance. Activated carbon was utilized to remediate water polluted with nanoplastics from PET bottles and textiles.
Due to its capacity to physically catch nanoplastics in the waste epoxy's porous structure, the researchers recorded 94% removal effectiveness. As a result, the study team intends to apply its strategy to other polymers and investigate municipal wastewater treatment facilities' scale-up testing.
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