Abstract
Microplastics have been detected in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, yet the toxic effects of microplastics on living organisms are poorly known. In particular, there is few knowledge on the relationship between microplastic exposure and human cancer. Here we studied the occurrence of microplastics in tumoral and non-tumoral colon tissues of patients diagnosed with colorectal adenocarcinoma, and in colon tissues of subjects not diagnosed with colorectal cancer, as control. Microplastics were analyzed by attenuated total reflection-Fourier-transform infrared and Raman spectroscopies. Results show that the number of microplastics in tumoral colon tissues is higher than the number of microplastics in non-tumoral colon tissues or control. The particle size of microplastics extracted from colon tissues ranges from 1 to 1299 μm. The microplastics included polyethylene, poly(methyl methacrylate), and Nylon (polyamide). Overall, our findings suggest a possible connection between colorectal cancer and microplastic exposure.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- ATR-FTIR:
-
Attenuated total reflection-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy
References
American Chemical Society (ACS) (2020) Virtual conference 17 August 2020, Press release. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2020/august/micro-and-nanoplasticsdetectable-in-human-tissues.html
Araujo CF, Nolasco MM, Ribeiro AM et al (2018) Identification of microplastics using Raman spectroscopy: latest developments and future prospects. Water Res 142:426–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.05.060
Barboza LGA, Lopes C, Oliveira P et al (2020) Microplastics in wild fish from North East Atlantic Ocean and its potential for causing neurotoxic effects, lipid oxidative damage, and human health risks associated with ingestion exposure. Sci Total Environ 717:134625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134625
Campanale C, Massarelli C, Savino I et al (2020) A detailed review study on potential effects of microplastics and additives of concern on human health. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17:1212. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041212
D’Amelia RP, Gentile S, Nirode WF et al (2016) Quantitative analysis of copolymers and blends of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and elemental analysis (EA). World J Chem Educ 4:25–31. https://doi.org/10.12691/WJCE-4-2-1
Danopoulos E, Jenner L, Twiddy M et al (2020) Microplastic contamination of salt intended for human consumption: a systematic review and meta-analysis. SN Appl Sci 2:1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-03749-0
Deng Y, Zhang Y, Lemos B et al (2017) Tissue accumulation of microplastics in mice and biomarker responses suggest widespread health risks of exposure. Sci Rep 7:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep466687
Duan G, Zhang C, Li A et al (2008) Preparation and characterization of mesoporous zirconia made by using a poly (methyl methacrylate) template. Nanoscale Res Lett 3:118–122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11671-008-9123-7
Eerkes-Medrano D, Leslie HA, Quinn B (2019) Microplastics in drinking water: a review and assessment. Curr Opin Environ Sci Health 7:69–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2018.12.001
EFSA panel on contaminants in the food chain-CONTAM (2016) Presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in food, with particular focus on seafood. EFSA J 14:e04501. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4501
Fleming M, Ravula S, Tatishchev SF et al (2012) Colorectal carcinoma: pathologic aspects. J Gastrointest Oncol 3:153. https://doi.org/10.3978/j.issn.2078-6891.2012.030
Frias J, Nash R (2019) Microplastics: finding a consensus on the definition. Mar Pollut Bull 138(2019):145–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.11.022
Galissier T, Schneider C, Nasri S et al (2016) Biobanking of fresh-frozen human adenocarcinomatous and normal colon tissues: which parameters influence RNA quality? PLoS ONE 11(4):e0154326. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154326
Gulmine J, Janissek P, Heise H et al (2002) Polyethylene characterization by FTIR. Polym Test 21:557–563. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0142-9418(01)00124-6
Haris M, Kathiresan S, Mohan S (2010) FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra and normal coordinate analysis of poly methyl methacrylate. Der Pharma Chem 2:316–323
Hermsen E, Pompe R, Besseling E et al (2017) Detection of low numbers of microplastics in North Sea fish using strict quality assurance criteria. Mar Pollut Bull 122:253–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.051
Huang Z, Hu B, Wang H (2022) Analytical methods for microplastics in the environment: a review. Environ Chem Lett. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01525-7
Ibrahim YS, Tuan Anuar S, Azmi AA et al (2020) Detection of microplastics in human colectomy specimens. JGH Open 5(1):116–121. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgh3.12457
Jung MR, Horgen FD, Orski SV et al (2018) Validation of ATR FT-IR to identify polymers of plastic marine debris, including those ingested by marine organisms. Mar Pollut Bull 127:704–716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.061
Käppler A, Fischer D, Oberbeckmann S et al (2016) Analysis of environmental microplastics by vibrational microspectroscopy: FTIR, Raman or both? Anal Bioanal Chem 408:8377–8391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9956-3
Kida T, Hiejima Y, Nitta KH (2016) Raman spectroscopic study of high-density polyethylene during tensile deformation. Int J Exp Spectrosc Tech 1:001. https://doi.org/10.35840/2631-505X/8501
Koelmans AA, Nor NHM, Hermsen E et al (2019) Microplastics in freshwaters and drinking water: critical review and assessment of data quality. Water Res 155:410–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.02.054
Lefakane T, Ndibewu P, Netshiozwi T (2015) Characterization, chemical phase identification, and performance evaluation of omnipotent polymers used in the manufacturing of personal protective garments. Polym Res J 9:407
Li B, Ding Y, Cheng X et al (2020) Polyethylene microplastics affect the distribution of gut microbiota and inflammation development in mice. Chemosphere 244:125492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125492
Mak CW, Tsang YY, Leung MML et al (2020) Microplastics from effluents of sewage treatment works and stormwater discharging into the Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong. Mar Pollut Bull 157:111181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111181
Mármol I, Sánchez-de-Diego C, Pradilla Dieste A et al (2017) Colorectal carcinoma: a general overview and future perspectives in colorectal cancer. Int J Mol Sci 18(1):197. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18010197
Menchaca C, Alvarez-Castillo A, Martinez-Barrera G et al (2003) Mechanisms for the modification of nylon 6, 12 by gamma irradiation. Int J Mater Prod Technol 19:521–529. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMPT.2003.003468
Miloloža M, Cvetnić M, Kučić Grgić D et al (2022) Biotreatment strategies for the removal of microplastics from freshwater systems. A review. Environ Chem Lett 20:1377–1402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01370-0
Padervand M, Lichtfouse E, Robert D et al (2020) Removal of microplastics from the environment. A review. Environ Chem Lett 18:807–828. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-00983-1
Pan Z, Sun X, Guo H et al (2019) Prevalence of microplastic pollution in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. Chemosphere 225:735–744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.03.076
Patil PB, Maity S, Sarkar A (2022) Potential human health risk assessment of microplastic exposure: current scenario and future perspectives. Environ Monit Assess 194(12):898. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10539-1
Petersen F, Hubbart JA (2021) The occurrence and transport of microplastics: the state of the science. Sci Total Environ 758:143936. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143936
Razeghi N, Hamidian AH, Wu C et al (2021) Correction to: Microplastic sampling techniques in freshwaters and sediments: a review. Environ Chem Lett 19:4655. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01303-x
Schwabl P, Köppel S, Königshofer P et al (2019) Detection of various microplastics in human stool: a prospective case series. Ann Intern Med 171:453–457. https://doi.org/10.7326/M19-0618
Sigma Technical Document. https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/technical-documents/articles/biology/ir-spectrumtable.html. Access 12 Mar 2021
Smith M, Love DC, Rochman CM et al (2018) Microplastics in seafood and the implications for human health. Curr Environ Health Rep 5:375–386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-018-0206-z
Stock V, Böhmert L, Lisicki E et al (2019) Uptake and effects of orally ingested polystyrene microplastic particles in vitro and in vivo. Arch Toxicol 93:1817–1833. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-019-02478-7
Thermofisher Application Note. https://assets.thermofisher.com/TFS-Assets/MSD/Application-Notes/AN53001in-situ-density-determination-pe-polymer-films-raman-microscopy.pdf (Last access date:12 March 2021)
Vasanthan N (2012) Crystallinity determination of nylon 66 by density measurement and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. J Chem Educ 89:387–390. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed200398m
Vijayakumari G, Selvakumar N, Jeyasubramanian K et al (2013) Investigation on the Electrical properties of polymer metal nanocomposites for physiological sensing applications. Phys Procedia 49:67–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2013.10.012
Wright SL, Kelly FJ (2017) Plastic and human health: a micro issue? Environ Sci Technol 51:6634–6647. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b00423
Xu JL, Thomas KV, Luo Z et al (2019) FTIR and Raman imaging for microplastics analysis: state of the art, challenges and prospects. TrAC Trends Anal Chem 119:115629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2019.115629
Yong CQY, Valiyaveetill S, Tang BL (2020) Toxicity of microplastics and nanoplastics in mammalian systems. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(5):1509. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051509
Acknowledgements
We want to thank Prof. Mine Gülaboğlu for using the laboratory facilities and Prof. Mostafa Abdelaty Hassibelnaby for scientific contribution to the study.
Funding
This research did not receive any grant from public or commercial funding agencies.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Concept—MC; Design—MC, FDM, NKB; Supervision—MC, FDM, NKB; Resources—MC, FDM, NKB; Materials—MC, FDM, NKB, OC; Data Collection and/or Processing—MC, FDM, NKB, OC, SY, GE, HİG; Analysis and/or Interpretation—MC, FDM, NKB; Literature Search—MC, FDM, NKB; Writing Manuscript—MC, FDM, NKB; Critical Review—MC, FDM, NKB, OC, SY, GE, HİG.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
This study was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty at Ataturk University (Decision Date/No: 17.12.2020/B.30.2.ATA.0.01.00-10-50).
Consent to participate
Informed consents were obtained from all participants.
Consent for publication
Consents were obtained from all authors for publication.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Cetin, M., Demirkaya Miloglu, F., Kilic Baygutalp, N. et al. Higher number of microplastics in tumoral colon tissues from patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma. Environ Chem Lett 21, 639–646 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01560-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01560-4