Polymer-Specific Quantification of Circulating Microplastics in Healthy and Immunocompromised Individuals

Polymer-Specific Quantification of Circulating Microplastics in Healthy and Immunocompromised Individuals | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Polymer-Specific Quantification of Circulating Microplastics in Healthy and Immunocompromised Individuals Aneeba Fatima, Hasnain Javed, Nazia Jamil This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906330/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Microplastics (MPs) are emerging contaminants of global concern that have recently been identified in the human blood. However, their presence in immunocompromised people is still not much identified. This research offers the comparative evaluation of MP load in normal and immunocompromised patients. Methods Blood samples were collected from healthy individuals (n = 15) and immunocompromised patients (n = 20) by using non-plastic equipments. Samples were subjected to acid (1M HCl, 1M HNO3) and alkaline (1M NaOH, 1.8M KOH) digestion. Polymer identification was performed on 14 representative samples using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. An updated quantifying technique that minus both blank and biological control residues enhanced a more precise way of quantification. Results All analyzed blood samples contained microplastics (MPs). The refined digestion method yielded MP between 0.2 and 7.0 gL-1 with a mean ±SD of 2.86 ±1.80 g L-1. The findings showed that MP load in the immunocompromised was higher (3.57±1.55 g L-1) compared to healthy controls (1.90 ±1.93 g L-1) but the difference was not statistically significant (unpaired t = 1.99, p = 0.073). Environmental and medical sources were represented by such dominant polymers as polyacrylamide (PAM 25%), polyaramid (PA 20%), and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT 14%). The maximum recovery and polymer integrity was obtained with HCl digestion. Conclusion This study found microplastics in both normal and immunocompromised blood samples but load was higher in immunocompromised patients probably due to clinical exposure to polymer and its minimal clearance. These findings highlight the need for standardized analytical protocols and further investigation into the biological implications of circulating microplastics. Microplastics Human blood Biomonitoring Environmental exposure Polymer identification FTIR spectroscopy Immunocompromised patients Contamination control Full Text Supplementary Files SupplementaryDataofarticle.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8906330","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":596047962,"identity":"30614f20-910e-4128-9a01-13ac9d7d4e50","order_by":0,"name":"Aneeba Fatima","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJACZgYGOTDJkGAgIQcSOfCAsBZjBh6Qlg8VFsZgLQlEaQEyGGecqUhsAAnh08I/u/ng44IaA3l7du7Ez7xtEunzww4/BNpiJ6fbgF2LxJ1jycYzjhkY9jDzbpYGasndeDvNAKgl2djsAA5rbuSYSfOw/WEEatkA0TI7AaTlQOI2HFrkb+R//83zz8AeZMtvkMMMZ6d/wKvF4EYOGzNvm0EiUMs2yRlnJBLkpXPw22J4I81YemafQXLPYd5tFh8qJAw3SOcUHEgwwO0XuRvJDz8XfDOwbe8/u/lGgkGdvPzs9M0fPlTYyeH0PqZTwSoNiFUOAvINpKgeBaNgFIyCkQAACTNgBuDQxeAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"University of the Punjab Quaid-i-Azam Campus: University of the Punjab","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aneeba","middleName":"","lastName":"Fatima","suffix":""},{"id":596047963,"identity":"c528dd40-3186-4dbd-a420-dade87bb20d2","order_by":1,"name":"Hasnain Javed","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"IPH: Institute of Public Health","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hasnain","middleName":"","lastName":"Javed","suffix":""},{"id":596047964,"identity":"8122fc08-cddc-4c5f-867b-f125285b5b31","order_by":2,"name":"Nazia Jamil","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of the Punjab Quaid-i-Azam Campus: University of the Punjab","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nazia","middleName":"","lastName":"Jamil","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-18 06:27:56","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906330/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906330/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104835107,"identity":"2a4dd340-601b-4ebd-a8f7-c332693b490c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 17:40:17","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":693414,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"DetectionofMicroplastics.Article.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8906330/v1_covered_77632c6e-a866-4fb1-96d5-bc4435a23d33.pdf"},{"id":103398115,"identity":"712467b7-b3a8-4cf4-b0be-be17e19fc796","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-25 08:58:49","extension":"docx","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1409199,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryDataofarticle.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8906330/v1/44ca4d0363809e66b8187a99.docx"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Polymer-Specific Quantification of Circulating Microplastics in Healthy and Immunocompromised Individuals","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Microplastics, Human blood, Biomonitoring, Environmental exposure, Polymer identification, FTIR spectroscopy, Immunocompromised patients, Contamination control","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906330/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906330/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e Microplastics (MPs) are emerging contaminants of global concern that have recently been identified in the human blood. However, their presence in immunocompromised people is still not much identified. This research offers the comparative evaluation of MP load in normal and immunocompromised patients.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e Blood samples were collected from healthy individuals (n = 15) and immunocompromised patients (n = 20) by using non-plastic equipments. Samples were subjected to acid (1M HCl, 1M HNO3) and alkaline (1M NaOH, 1.8M KOH) digestion. Polymer identification was performed on 14 representative samples using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. An updated quantifying technique that minus both blank and biological control residues enhanced a more precise way of quantification.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e All analyzed blood samples contained microplastics (MPs). The refined digestion method yielded MP between 0.2 and 7.0 gL-1 with a mean ±SD of 2.86 ±1.80 g L-1. The findings showed that MP load in the immunocompromised was higher (3.57±1.55 g L-1) compared to healthy controls (1.90 ±1.93 g L-1) but the difference was not statistically significant (unpaired t = 1.99, p = 0.073). Environmental and medical sources were represented by such dominant polymers as polyacrylamide (PAM 25%), polyaramid (PA 20%), and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT 14%). The maximum recovery and polymer integrity was obtained with HCl digestion.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion\u003c/strong\u003e This study found microplastics in both normal and immunocompromised blood samples but load was higher in immunocompromised patients probably due to clinical exposure to polymer and its minimal clearance. These findings highlight the need for standardized analytical protocols and further investigation into the biological implications of circulating microplastics.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Polymer-Specific Quantification of Circulating Microplastics in Healthy and Immunocompromised Individuals","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-25 08:58:05","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906330/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"069974fc-3834-43de-9bd9-020d34213565","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 25th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-15T09:51:09+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-25 08:58:05","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8906330","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8906330","identity":"rs-8906330","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}