ArticleScientific reports2025
Method for label-free & non-destructive detection of microplastics in human formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections.
Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Demystifying Experimental Parameters in Optical Photothermal Imaging in Aqueous Media.ACS omega · 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
- 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
- Autoencoder-Based Detection of Nanoplastics in Biological Matrices via Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging.ACS measurement science au · 2026Article
- Article
- Biological and Biomedical Applications of Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy (O-PTIR).Applied spectroscopy · 2026Review
- Communicating Confidence in the Reliability of Micro- and Nanoplastic Identification in Human Health Studies.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Influence of Layer Thickness on the Detection of Plastic Films Using Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy (O-PTIR).ACS measurement science au · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Microplastic (MP) pollution is increasingly acknowledged as a critical environmental and public health issue. This study sought to establish a robust, clinically compatible method for detecting MP particles in deparaffinized formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) human colon tissue sections, using protocols compatible with routine clinical pathology. We employed mid-infrared photothermal (MIP) microscopy-also referred to as optical photothermal infrared (OPTIR) spectroscopy-as a non-destructive, high-resolution technique for chemical characterization and spatial mapping of polymer particles in intact FFPE samples. Following OPTIR analysis, identical sections underwent hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining to facilitate precise histopathological evaluation in defined regions of interest. Using this integrated workflow, we detected and localized polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) particles (21 PE particles, 1 PS particle, and 1 PET fiber) within distinct tissue areas. Subsequent histological assessment revealed characteristic inflammatory features near to these identified MP particles. To our knowledge, this represents the first demonstration of a diagnostic workflow that enables combined infrared spectroscopic and histopathological analysis of MPs in routinely processed human FFPE tissue. This approach offers a promising avenue to elucidate the role of microplastic accumulation in human disease and supports further investigation into potential mechanistic links between MP exposure and inflammatory processes in the colon.
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Registered trials
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