Gwyneth Perseveranda

Plastic production has continuously posed environmental threats, with large amounts breaking down into tiny microplastics.


Over time, these tiny particles can penetrate even newborn rodents, signifying the growing threat of plastic contamination to living organisms.

In a Rutgers University-led study, researchers have detected the presence of micro- and nano plastics inside the organs of newborn rats.

The research titled, “Identification of micro- and nanoplastic particles in postnatal sprague-dawley rat offspring after maternal inhalation exposure throughout gestation” revealed that aerosolized particles inhaled by pregnant rats were later found in the organs of their newborns, including lungs, liver, and the brain.

"Nobody wants plastic in their liver," Phoebe Stapleton, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy said.

"Now that we know it's there, as well as in other organs, the next step is to understand why and what that means," the senior author of the study added.

To determine the persistence of micro- and nanoparticles in neonatal tissue after prenatal exposure, Stapleton and colleagues exposed six rats to aerosolized food-grade plastic powder for 10 days during pregnancy.

According to Stapleton, rodents are a good subject for this study, due to the reason that, humans and rodents both have a hemochorial placenta.

This means that maternal and fetal blood don’t come into direct contact during circulation.

Two newborn rats – one male and one female were tested for micro- and nanoplastic exposure, two weeks after birth.

In both rats, the same type of plastic that the mothers inhaled during pregnancy was found in the lungs, liver, kidney, heart, and brain tissue.

On the other hand, there was no presence of plastics detected in the control group.

Stapleton expressed that the findings are pieces of evidence illustrating the potential dangers of micro- and nanoplastics in the environment.

"These results raise concerns for the toxicological impacts associated with MNPs exposure, maternal-fetal health, and systemic MNPs particle deposition," the researchers wrote.

Micro- and nanoplastics are pollutants that are present everywhere, they can be found in food, farmland, seawater, and even in snow.

Micoplastics refer to pieces of plastics that are smaller than 0.5 mm, a size roughly equivalent to grain of rice.

Nanoplastics, on the other hand, are smaller, with 100 nanometers or less.

Exposure to these ‘invisible’ pollutants is hazardous to human health, as studies have suggested that there is a strong correlation between micro- and nanoplastics particles and cancer, inflammation, impaired immune function, tissue degeneration, and cardiovascular problems.

Stapleton hopes that her findings help create a sense of urgency among policymakers, to create more strict regulations in the production of plastic and make more funding available for research.

"I don't think we'll ever get rid of plastics altogether," Stapleton said. "They're too important for modern life. But I do think we might get to a point where we'll have some policies to indicate which ones are less toxic than others."