Analytical methodology for unveiling human exposure to (micro)plastic additives

Abstract

This review describes a wide variety of analytical approaches for the assessment of human exposure to organic chemicals associated with plastic additives, focusing on works published in the last decade on plasticizers, bisphenols, flame retardants and antioxidants. Physiologically based extraction tests serve as preliminary in-vitro assays to determine the bioaccessibility of these compounds from micro/nanoplastics in body fluids of the gastrointestinal tract, skin, or lung. Whenever plastic-laden compounds become bioavailable, human metabolism is to be monitored through the assessment of phase I and II metabolites. In this regard, analytical methods based on chromatography and mass spectrometry for human biomonitoring of parent compounds and their metabolites in biological samples (mostly urine and plasma) are discussed in depth. This review also covers the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in determining the overall human exposure of a given population to plastic-related species.