Visualising microplastics inside living tissue without altering or destroying it lays important groundwork for future studies.
Cluster of microplastics in human tissue
Scientists have mapped microplastics deep within the tissue of living organisms in fine detail for the first time.
Publishing their findings in Advanced Science, University of Birmingham, UCL and Kingston University researchers reveal that non-invasive methods can be used to detect microplastics deep in the living tissue of mice.
The scientists used a novel technique called photoacoustic imaging to detect common microplastics such as polypropylene, used in food containers and coffee cups, and polyethylene which is found in single-use plastic bags.
By showing that microplastics can be visualised inside living tissue without altering or destroying it, this work lays important groundwork for future studies.
Their technique uses pulses of laser light directed into tissue and absorbed by microplastics, which have a unique absorption fingerprint. Light absorption generates tiny high frequency sound waves, which are then picked up by ultrasound detectors to create a detailed map showing where microplastics are located within the body.
Lead physicist Dr Olumide (Ollie) Ogunlade, formerly of UCL Medical Physics and Bioengineering but now based at the University of Birmingham, said: “By showing that microplastics can be visualised inside living tissue without altering or destroying it, this work lays important groundwork for future studies.
“Since the photoacoustic signal is directly related to the amount of microplastic, our method could overcome the limitations of existing indirect methods of estimating microplastic accumulation. We anticipate it will ultimately help researchers link everyday exposure to microplastics with long‑term health effects, in a way that better reflects what happens in real life.”
The research unlocks the potential to understand how microplastics travel around the human body and impact health. An image created using their technique was shortlisted for the Wellcome Photography Prize 2025 and was displayed at a public exhibition at the Francis Crick Institute.
Lead author of the study, Dr Stephen Patrick, from UCL Medicine, said: “Everyone on earth is exposed to microplastics – they are found everywhere: in our food, drink, clothing and home furnishings. There is growing concern over their effects on human health, which until now has been difficult to study inside living tissue.
Most existing methods rely on biopsies or analysis of tissue after dissection, which limits what researchers can observe over time. We expect our new approach to detecting microplastics will open up new avenues of research into where these particles accumulate in the body, how long they persist, and whether they contribute to diseases affecting the brain, blood vessels and other organs.”
The high-resolution method can detect individual microplastics as small as the width of a human hair, while also allowing researchers to track how particles move and accumulate in the body over periods of months rather than days – a time scale more relevant to long-term human exposure.
Until now, researchers have generally needed to chemically label microplastics before tracking them inside animals - a process that can change how the particles behave and limits how realistically they can be studied.
The new method instead detects the inbuilt optical signature of common plastics themselves, allowing researchers to non-invasively map and track microplastics deep inside living tissue over periods of months and at microscopic resolution.
In the experiments, the mice were given controlled amounts of microplastics - around half a milligram per experiment, roughly equal to half a grain of salt by injection. This allowed researchers to precisely track how the particles moved through living tissue over time. As with humans, the animals were also likely to already have low background levels of microplastics from food and drinking water.
Dr Joseph Bear, first author on the study and Senior Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry at Kingston University London, said: "The versatility of the technique allows us to shed light on the behaviour of other plastics in the body.
“Surgical implants such as hernia meshes are a particular focus due to their frequent mechanical failure, side effects, and need for replacement. We are following this up with further research that aims to improve patient outcomes and the safety of these devices."
Associate Professor
Staff profile of Dr Olumide Ogunlade, Associate Professor, in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham
