People are exposed to microplastics (MPs) on a large scale in everyday life. However, it is not clear whether MPs can also be distributed and retained in certain tissues. Therefore, the development of analytical methods capable of detecting MPs in specific human organs/tissues is of utmost importance. In this study, the use and combination of spectroscopic techniques, namely Raman microspectroscopy and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), was tested for the detection of polyethylene (PE) MPs in human tonsils. Preliminary results showed that Raman microspectroscopy was able to detect MPs down to 1 μm in size and LIBS down to 10 μm. In the next step, human tonsils were spiked with PE MPs, and digested. The filtered particles were analyzed using Raman microspectroscopy and LIBS, and complemented by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The results showed that Raman microspectroscopy could reliably detect PE MPs in spiked human tonsils, while LIBS and XRF served as a reference analytical method to characterize particles that could not be classified by Raman microspectroscopy for their non-organic origin. The results of this study, supported by a current feasibility study conducted on clinical samples, demonstrated the reliability and feasibility of this approach for monitoring MPs in biotic samples.

Central European Institute of Technology Brno University of Technology Purkyňova 656 123 61200 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kotlářská 2 611 37 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology University Hospital Brno Černopolní 9 61300 Brno Czech Republic

Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology University of Ljubljana Večna pot 113 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Brno University of Technology Technická 2896 2 61669 Brno Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Kamenice 5 62500 Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences Královopolská 147 612 64 Brno Czech Republic

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