Nature Study Finds Microplastics in Water Are Not Inert and Can Form Damaging Chemicals

Plastics are used widely because they are chemically inert. Bags, food containers and cups do not react with what is put in them. Yet plastics can still break down into microplastics, which have been found in drinking water, human blood, arteries and brains. The consequences of that presence are uncertain.

"Whether microplastics can directly cause human disease is still being researched," Min said, according to Ars Technica. In the new Nature study, Min's team took a step toward answering that question by demonstrating that microplastics are likely not as chemically inert as expected.

The study draws on microdroplet chemistry, a field Min's lab has worked on for years. It studies how water behaves when broken into tiny droplets at its boundary with air. Such droplets have been reported to generate reactive oxygen species, or ROS, a family of harmful, oxygen-containing molecules.

"ROS will essentially bump into proteins, lipids, DNA, and cause damage," Min said. "You could break a DNA strand into segments. You could mutate DNA; you could misfold proteins."

The finding does not establish that microplastics cause disease. Ars Technica reported that the Nature study demonstrates microplastics are likely not as chemically inert as might be expected. The article states that whether microplastics can directly cause human disease is still being researched.

Microplastics are already widespread. Their presence in drinking water, human blood, arteries and brains has raised questions about possible health effects, but the article says the consequences remain uncertain. The new study focuses on chemical behavior at the microdroplet level and on the generation of ROS, which can damage proteins, lipids and DNA.

Min's comments frame the remaining uncertainty. He said the question of whether microplastics can directly cause human disease is still being researched. The Nature study does not settle that question, but it reports evidence that microplastics are not necessarily inert and can make damaging chemicals on their own, according to Ars Technica.