Microplastics in Internal Tissues of Companion Animals from Urban Environments

Autor: Joana C. Prata, Ana L. Patrício Silva, João P. da Costa, Patrícia Dias-Pereira, Alexandre Carvalho, António José Silva Fernandes, Florinda Mendes da Costa, Armando C. Duarte, Teresa Rocha-Santos
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Animals, Vol 12, Iss 15, p 1979 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2076-2615
DOI: 10.3390/ani12151979
Popis: Companion animals living in urban areas are exposed to environmental contaminants, which may include microplastics. A preliminary study was conducted by collecting postmortem samples from the internal tissue (lungs, ileum, liver, kidney, and blood clots) of 25 dogs (Canis familiaris) and 24 cats (Felis catus) living in an urban environment in Porto metropolitan area, Portugal. Suspected microplastics were found in 80 samples from 35 animals (18 cats and 17 dogs), often occurring in more than one tissue of the same animal (71.4%), primarily under small sizes (50.3% as 1–10 µm). Micro-Raman spectroscopy confirmed a fraction of particles as common polymer types (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate). However, the number of particles was very low. This study highlights the possibilities of the internalization and distribution of microplastics in the internal tissues of terrestrial vertebrates.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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