2. Academic Validation
  3. Toxicity and Biodistribution of Fragmented Polypropylene Microplastics in ICR Mice

Toxicity and Biodistribution of Fragmented Polypropylene Microplastics in ICR Mice

  • Int J Mol Sci. 2023 May 9;24(10):8463. doi: 10.3390/ijms24108463.
Sijoon Lee 1,  Dongseon Kim 1 2,  Kyung-Ku Kang 1,  Soo-Eun Sung 1,  Joo-Hee Choi 1,  Minkyoung Sung 1,  Chang-Hoon Shin 1 3,  Eunyoung Jeon 1,  Dongkyu Kim 1,  Dongmin Kim 4,  Sunjong Lee 4,  Hee-Kyung Kim 1,  Kilsoo Kim 1 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Preclinical Research Center, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation, Daegu 41061, Republic of Korea.
  • 2 Department of Medical & Biological Engineering, Kyungpook National University, 80 Dahakro, Buk-gu, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea.
  • 3 Department of Pharmacology, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University, 80 Dahakro, Buk-gu, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea.
  • 4 Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Chenan 31056, Republic of Korea.
  • 5 College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 80 Dahakro, Buk-gu, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea.
PMID: 37239816 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24108463
Abstract

Currently, polypropylene (PP) is used in various products, thus leading to high daily exposure in humans. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate the toxicological effects, biodistribution, and accumulation of PP microplastics in the human body. In this study, administration of two particle sizes of PP microplastics (approximately 5 and 10-50 µm) did not lead to any significant changes in several toxicological evaluation parameters, including body weight and pathological examination, compared with the control group in ICR mice. Therefore, the approximate lethal dose and no-observed-adverse-effect level of PP microplastics in ICR mice were established as ≥2000 mg/kg. Furthermore, we manufactured cyanine 5.5 carboxylic acid (Cy5.5-COOH)-labeled fragmented PP microplastics to monitor real-time in vivo biodistribution. After oral administration of the Cy5.5-COOH-labeled microplastics to the mice, most of the PP microplastics were detected in the gastrointestinal tract and observed to be out of the body after 24 h in IVIS Spectrum CT. Therefore, this study provides a new insight into the short-term toxicity, distribution, and accumulation of PP microplastics in mammals.

Keywords

Cy5.5-COOH-labeled; biodistribution; microplastics; polypropylene; toxicity.

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