ArticlePloS one2023
Detection of microplastics in human saphenous vein tissue using μFTIR: A pilot study.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It carries an expression of concern. Cited by 50 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 140 citations in OpenAlex.
- Micro- and nanoplastics in human biological materials: a systematic review of detection methods and methodological challenges.Archives of toxicology · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of microplastics on female reproductive health: insights from animal and human experimental studies: a systematic review.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2025Pooled it
- Mapping Microplastics in Humans: Analysis of Polymer Types, and Shapes in Food and Drinking Water-A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Micro/nanoplastics induce thyroid follicular cell pyroptosis to trigger thyrotoxicity by activating NF-κB signaling.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Micro- and Nanoplastics in Cardiovascular Toxicology: Human Tissue Detection, Clinical Phenotypes, and Adverse Outcome Signals.Cardiovascular toxicology · 2026Review
- Applications of Stem Cells and Modern Toxicological Analytical Methods in the Toxicity of Microplastics.Toxics · 2026Review
- Micro- and Nanoplastics as Emerging Drivers of Liver Injury: Exposure, Evidence, and Mechanisms.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Micro- and Nanoplastics as Potential Drivers of Dilated Cardiomyopathy.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Cardiovascular Disease: An Emerging Cardiovascular Risk Factor.Cardiovascular toxicology · 2026Review
- Small particles, large questions: unravelling the toxicity and potential health risks of PET micro-/nanoplastics.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2026Review
- Tracking Microplastics From Source to Impact: A Review of Environmental Presence, Exposure, Remediation, and Health Risks.Current environmental health reports · 2026Review
- Emerging cardiovascular risks of micro- and nanoplastics: toxic effects and mechanistic pathways.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2026Review
- Microplastic contamination in remote mountain lakes of the americas: a baseline assessment from Patagonia and Northern California.Frontiers in toxicology · 2026Article
- Microplastics, Endocrine Disruptors, and Oxidative Stress: Mechanisms and Health Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Method for label-free & non-destructive detection of microplastics in human formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Human Plastiphere: A Bioparticulate System Challenging Microplastic Risk Assessment and Governance.Environmental science & technology · 2025Review
- Post-mortem evidence of microplastic bioaccumulation in human organs: insights from advanced imaging and spectroscopic analysis.Archives of toxicology · 2025Article
- Emerging threat of environmental microplastics: A comprehensive analysis of hepatic metabolic dysregulation and hepatocellular damage (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2025Review
- Article
- The Presence of Micro- and Nanoplastics in Food and the Estimation of the Amount Consumed Depending on Dietary Patterns.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
- Expression of concern
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in the environment, in the human food chain, and have been recently detected in blood and lung tissues. To undertake a pilot analysis of MP contamination in human vein tissue samples with respect to their presence (if any), levels, and characteristics of any particles identified. This study analysed digested human saphenous vein tissue samples (n = 5) using μFTIR spectroscopy (size limitation of 5 μm) to detect and characterise any MPs present. In total, 20 MP particles consisting of five MP polymer types were identified within 4 of the 5 vein tissue samples with an unadjusted average of 29.28 ± 34.88 MP/g of tissue (expressed as 14.99 ± 17.18 MP/g after background subtraction adjustments). Of the MPs detected in vein samples, five polymer types were identified, of irregular shape (90%), with alkyd resin (45%), poly (vinyl propionate/acetate, PVAc (20%) and nylon-ethylene-vinyl acetate, nylon-EVA, tie layer (20%) the most abundant. While the MP levels within tissue samples were not significantly different than those identified within procedural blanks (which represent airborne contamination at time of sampling), they were comprised of different plastic polymer types. The blanks comprised n = 13 MP particles of four MP polymer types with the most abundant being polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), then polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyfumaronitrile:styrene (FNS), with a mean ± SD of 10.4 ± 9.21, p = 0.293. This study reports the highest level of contamination control and reports unadjusted values alongside different contamination adjustment techniques. This is the first evidence of MP contamination of human vascular tissues. These results support the phenomenon of transport of MPs within human tissues, specifically blood vessels, and this characterisation of types and levels can now inform realistic conditions for laboratory exposure experiments, with the aim of determining vascular health impacts.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.