Publication detail

Raman microspectroscopy and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for the analysis of polyethylene microplastics in human soft tissues

PAROBKOVÁ, V. HOLUB, D. KIZOVSKÝ, M. KALČÍKOVÁ, G. ROZMAN, U. URÍK, M. NOVOTNÝ, K. SAMEK, O. ZIKMUND, T. POŘÍZKA, P. KAISER, J.

Original Title

Raman microspectroscopy and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for the analysis of polyethylene microplastics in human soft tissues

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

English

Original Abstract

People are exposed to microplastics (MPs) on a large scale in everyday life. However, it is not clear whether MPs can also be distributed and retained in certain tissues. Therefore, the development of analytical methods capable of detecting MPs in specific human organs/tissues is of utmost importance. In this study, the use and combination of spectroscopic techniques, namely Raman microspectroscopy and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), was tested for the detection of polyethylene (PE) MPs in human tonsils. Preliminary results showed that Raman microspectroscopy was able to detect MPs down to 1 mu m in size and LIBS down to 10 mu m. In the next step, human tonsils were spiked with PE MPs, and digested. The filtered particles were analyzed using Raman microspectroscopy and LIBS, and complemented by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The results showed that Raman microspectroscopy could reliably detect PE MPs in spiked human tonsils, while LIBS and XRF served as a reference analytical method to characterize particles that could not be classified by Raman microspectroscopy for their non-organic origin. The results of this study, supported by a current feasibility study conducted on clinical samples, demonstrated the reliability and feasibility of this approach for monitoring MPs in biotic samples.

Keywords

Health hazards; Exposure; Plastic pollution; Polyethylene; Microplastics; Tissue analysis; Human tonsils; Raman spectroscopy; Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy; LIBS

Authors

PAROBKOVÁ, V.; HOLUB, D.; KIZOVSKÝ, M.; KALČÍKOVÁ, G.; ROZMAN, U.; URÍK, M.; NOVOTNÝ, K.; SAMEK, O.; ZIKMUND, T.; POŘÍZKA, P.; KAISER, J.

Released

30. 9. 2024

Publisher

CELL PRESS

Location

CAMBRIDGE

ISBN

2405-8440

Periodical

Heliyon

Year of study

10

Number

18

State

United States of America

Pages count

11

URL

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024138753

Full text in the Digital Library

http://hdl.handle.net/11012/249758

BibTex

@article{BUT191131,
  author="Viktória {Parobková} and Daniel {Holub} and Martin {Kizovský} and Gabriela {Kalčíková} and Ula {Rozman} and Milan {Urík} and Karel {Novotný} and Ota {Samek} and Tomáš {Zikmund} and Pavel {Pořízka} and Jozef {Kaiser}",
  title="Raman microspectroscopy and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for the analysis of polyethylene microplastics in human soft tissues",
  journal="Heliyon",
  year="2024",
  volume="10",
  number="18",
  pages="11",
  doi="10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37844",
  issn="2405-8440",
  url="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024138753"
}