Study Suggests Microplastics May Not Be Chemically Inert

Plastics are often used due to their chemical inertness, which means they do not react with the contents they hold, such as bags, food containers, and cups. However, they can degrade into microplastics, which have been found in drinking water, human blood, arteries, and brains. The health implications of this presence remain uncertain. Chemist Wei Min from Columbia University stated, "Whether microplastics can directly cause human disease is still being researched." A recent study published in Nature by Min's team indicates that microplastics may not be as chemically inert as previously thought. Min's lab has focused on microdroplet chemistry, examining how water behaves when broken into tiny droplets at the air-water boundary. These microdroplets have been shown to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are harmful molecules that can interact with proteins, lipids, and DNA. Min noted, "ROS will essentially bump into proteins, lipids, DNA, and cause damage. You could break a DNA strand into segments. You could mutate DNA; you could misfold proteins."