Microplastic Contamination of Human Sperm before In Vitro Fertilization Warrants Attention for Early Life Exposure Risks.

ABSTRACT: The global prevalence of infertility boosts the demands for assisted reproduction technology (ART) and medical plasticware for processing human reproductive cells. The direct exposure risks of these cells to microplastic (MPs) potentially released from the plasticware, especially when sperm is extracted by mincing testicular tissues with sharp tools, remain unknown. Also, there are methodological challenges in confirming the actual occurrence and visualizing the original morphology of MPs in the retrieved sperm samples. Here, we identified sub-10-μm polystyrene (PS) MPs with protein coronas in mechanically retrieved sperm specimens on PS plastic Petri dishes through optical photothermal infrared imaging. The particles were mainly generated by the tools that induced local polymer cutting de

SUBMITTER: Su Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12538326 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature