Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta
Ragusa A, Svelato A, Santacroce C, et al. (2021). Environment International.
What they found
Raman microspectroscopy found 12 pigmented microplastic fragments (5–10 µm) in 4 of 6 placentas, on the maternal side, fetal side and membranes. Three were identified as polypropylene; for the other nine only the pigment could be identified.
- Sample
- 6 placentas
- What it can't tell you
- Six placentas, and only a small portion of each was analysed. Nine of 12 particles were identified by pigment alone, not polymer. Particle counts this low are sensitive to contamination. No health outcomes measured.
- Funding
- Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (per Europe PMC grant record)
- Topics
- In the body, Baby and kids
- Checked against
- Abstract (Europe PMC, PMID 33395930); Crossref shows no corrections