ArticleEnvironmental science & technology2025
Assessing the Efficacy of Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for Nanoplastic and Microplastic Analysis in Human Blood.
Article in Environmental science & technology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 2 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
44 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Health impacts of micro- and nanoplastics in humans: systematic review of in vivo evidence.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2026Pooled it
- Evidence on microplastic exposure and respiratory health outcomes: a systematic review.Therapeutic advances in respiratory diseasePooled it
- Composite polyphenols mitigate microplastic exposure-related immune disturbances: a two-phase population trial.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Human Exposure to Micro- and Nanoplastics:Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Microplastics, nanoplastics, and thrombogenesis.Research and practice in thrombosis and haemostasis · 2026Review
- Dynamic biomass micro-nanofibre framework for entrapment and clearance of gastrointestinal microplastics.Nature nanotechnology · 2026Article
- Microplastics in human lung tissue from autopsy samples collected in 1991 and 2024: a comparative post-mortem study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Article
- Transcriptomic responses to repeated exposure of human C3A liver spheroids to polystyrene nanoplastics.Archives of toxicology · 2026Article
- Microplastics and nanoplastics in inflammatory bowel disease: Mechanistic plausibility, human evidence and future research priorities.World journal of gastrointestinal pathophysiology · 2026Review
- Fluorescent Labeling Strategies for Tracking Micro- and Nanoplastics in Biological Systems.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Microplastics in the Female Genital Tract and Fetoplacental Continuum: A Lesion-Based Framework for Pathophysiological Interpretation.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2026Review
- The analytical challenge of measuring micro- and nanoplastics in human tissues.Nature nanotechnology · 2026Article
- Quantifying Cellular Uptake of NanoplasticsACS omega · 2026Article
- Correspondence on "Mass Balance Tracing of In Vivo Biodistribution, Relocation, and Excretion of Europium-Doped Micro/Nanoplastics in Rats".Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- Micro- and Nanoplastics in Cardiovascular Toxicology: Human Tissue Detection, Clinical Phenotypes, and Adverse Outcome Signals.Cardiovascular toxicology · 2026Review
- Bionanotechnology at microplastic and nanoplastic interfaces: detection, adsorption and degradation.Nano convergence · 2026Review
- Gaps between Laboratory Experiments and Real-World Exposure: Toxicological Assessment of Microplastics Is Based on Inadequate Evidence.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- NIST Polymer Pyrolysis Search: A New Pyrolysis GC-MS Search Program and Mass Spectral Reference Library.Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- Review
- Microplastics, nanoplastics and liver disease: an emerging health concern?Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Humans are constantly exposed to micro- and nanosized plastics (MNPs); however, there is still limited understanding of their fate within the body, partially due to limitations with current analytical techniques. The current study assessed the appropriateness of pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) analysis for the quantification of a range of polymers in human blood. An extraction protocol that reduced matrix interferences (false positives) of polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was developed and validated. Extraction recoveries ranged 7-109%, although surface-modified polystyrene (carboxylated) increased nanoparticle recoveries from 17 to 52%. Realistic detection limits were calculated for each polymer, accounting for matrix suppression and extraction recovery. These were up to 20 times higher than nominal detection limits calculated with Milli-Q water. Finally, the method was tested with a pilot study of the Australian population. PE interferences were reduced but still present, and no other polymers were above detection limits. It was concluded that Py-GC-MS is currently not a suitable analysis method for PE and PVC in biological matrices due to the presence of interferences and nonspecific pyrolysis products. Furthermore, while it is plausible to detect some polymers in blood, the estimated exposure concentrations needed are approaching the detection limits of the technique.
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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.