EXPOSURE TO NANO AND MICROPLASTICS AND THEIR IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Plastic waste breaks down into small particles which can be transported by air, water and food. Such particles can enter and leave our bodies and travel to internal organs such as lungs, liver, brain, intestines. Negative health effects on the respiratory, hepatic, immune and gastrointestinal systems have been reported in humans and other mammals in response to high exposures to these particles, and are dependent on the type, size and amount of plastics exposed.This integrative review of the literature aimed to highlight the negative impacts on health resulting from the direct or indirect absorption of nano and or micro particles of plastics by the body. Searches for articles on the topic were carried out in the PubMed, Medline and VHL (Virtual Health Library) databases, using the descriptors: Microplastic; Plastic Nanoparticles; Inflammation; Toxicity; Life risk; Health impact asessment, using the Boolean operators “AND” and “OR” to cross them with each other. As inclusion criteria, those in portuguese, english or spanish, published between 2011 and 2022, with full text and open and free access, in addition to complying with the proposed theme, were admitted. It was concluded that human exposure to these debris can compromise the homeostasis of the organism. It was found that the number of biomonitoring studies or those involving in vivo models is scarce, and most of the literature focuses on experimental models of in vitro cell lines to assess the potential risk of this exposure. Other studies are needed to expand this understanding.