Advancing microplastic detection in zebrafish with micro computed tomography : a novel approach to revealing microplastic distribution in organisms

Parobková, Viktória (author), Maleček, Lukáš (author), Zemek, Marek (author), Kalčíková, Gabriela (author), Vykypělová, Michaela (author), Buchtová, Marcela (author), Adamovsky, Ondrej (author), Zikmund, Tomáš (author), Kaiser, Jozef (author)

The analysis of microplastics with current spectroscopic and pyrolytic methods is reaching its limits, especially with regard to detailed spatial distribution in biological tissues. This limitation hampers a comprehensive understanding of the effects of microplastics on organisms. Therefore, there is a pressing need to expand the analytical approaches to study microplastics in biota. In this context, the aim of this study was to test the applicability of non-destructive 3D imaging using X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT) for the detection of microplastics in fish. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) were gavaged with polyethylene spherical microplastics (30–110 μm) and the distribution of microplastics in the gut was investigated using microCT. The results showed that the particle size distribution determined by microCT closely matched the data from conventional laser diffraction analysis. In addition, microCT was able to detect microplastics in spiked fish tissue and provide precise localization data by tracing particles of known type and shape. MicroCT offers a novel approach for tracking microplastics in organisms and enables accurate sizing without compromising the integrity of the tissue under investigation. It therefore represents a valuable addition to spectroscopic methods, which are widely used for the detection of microplastics based on their chemical composition but do not provide data on their spatial distribution.

• Language: English
• Keywords: microplastics, X-ray computed tomography, environment, plastic pollution, imaging
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 12 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 488, art. 137442
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-167019
• UDC: 504.5:678
• ISSN on article: 0304-3894
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137442
• COBISS.SI-ID: 224993539
• Publication date in RUL: 04.02.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of hazardous materials
• Shortened title: J. hazard. mater.
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0304-3894
• COBISS.SI-ID: 25748224

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: mikroplastika, rentgenska računalniška tomografija, okolje, onesnaženje plastiko, slikanje