Plastic in Your Blood?
Advancing pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the accurate quantification of micro- and nanoplastics in human blood
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists found tiny pieces of plastic in everyone's blood using a super careful method that avoids fake results.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 532 / 44
Evidence Score
A snapshot of a population at a single point in time. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine the direction of cause and effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists found tiny pieces of plastic in everyone's blood using a super careful method that avoids fake results.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 532 / 44
Evidence Score
A snapshot of a population at a single point in time. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine the direction of cause and effect.
Publication
Authors
Nardella F, Brits M, van Velzen MJM, Scibetta L, Durkin A, Vermeulen R, Béen F, Brandsma SH, Lamoree MH
Related Content
Claims (6)
Scientists detected tiny plastic particles from six common plastics in the blood of all 102 people tested, with PVC found in nearly all samples and measurable amounts in 14 individuals, showing that these synthetic polymers are routinely present in human blood.
Using full-scan data in pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry allows scientists to detect specific chemical signatures unique to polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, which helps distinguish these plastics from interfering substances in biological samples, leading to more accurate measurements.
Special laboratory procedures, such as using non-plastic equipment and clean air systems, prevent plastic particles from contaminating blood samples during testing, so any plastic found in the samples likely came from the body and not the testing process.
Scientists use a technique called pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PY-GC-MS) to identify traces of plastic chemicals in human tissues by heating the samples and analyzing the resulting chemical fragments.
In a study of 102 people, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a common plastic, was found in nearly all blood samples, and measurable amounts were present in 14 of them at an average concentration of 494 nanograms per milliliter, making it the most common plastic polymer detected.