Title

Identification of human exposure to airborne microplastics and its potential effects utilizing bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid

Authors

Tanya Jain¹, Meenal Jain², Rajat Nayak^3,*, Talha Saad⁴, Akash Wamanrao Karale⁵, Vrashabhan Ahirwar⁶ & Shailendra Patel⁷

Affiliation

¹Department of Anaesthesiology, R. D. Gardi Medical College, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India; ²Department of Anaesthesiology, Bundelkhand Government Medical College Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India; ³Department of Emergency Medicine, Bundelkhand Government Medical College Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India; ⁴Department of Respiratory Medicine, Bundelkhand Medical College Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India; ⁵Department of Surgery, Bundelkhand Medical College, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India; ⁶Department of Radiology, Bundelkhand Government Medical College, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India; ⁷Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Bundelkhand Medical College, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Tanya Jain - E-mail: tanyajain278@gmail.com

Meenal Jain - E-mail: meenaljain4444@gmail.com

Rajat Nayak - E-mail: dr_rajatnayak1515@yahoo.com

Talha Saad - E-mail: dr.talhasaad@gmail.com

Akash Wamanrao Karale - E-mail: akashkarle1.ak@gmail.com

 Vrashabhan Ahirwar - E-mail: drvrashabhan@gmail.com

Shailendra Patel - E-mail: medicare2002@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received April 1, 2026; Revised April 30, 2026; Accepted April 30, 2026, Published April 30, 2026

Abstract

Airborne microplastics can be inhaled and remain in the lower respiratory tract due to their small size and tendency to remain in the air in turn posing a lethal threat to human life. Therefore, it is of interest to detect airborne microplastics in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and to assess their association with lung function, airway inflammatory cell profile and respiratory tract symptoms in adult subjects with indiscernible symptoms. BAL fluid samples of ninety-two adults were collected using strict contamination controlled protocols and filtered via filters with a 0.45 μm membrane. Pulmonary function was assessed using spirometry in accordance with ATS guidelines. 69 (75%) respondents reported the presence of airborne microplastics in BAL fluid. Respondents with microplastics in BAL exhibited lower FEV₁, FVC and FEV₁/FVC ratios compared with microplastic-negative participants (p < 0.001). Data helps to comprehend the ill effects of microplastics on respiratory health.

Keywords

Airborne microplastics, respiratory tract, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, environmental exposure

Citation

Jain et al. Bioinformation 22(4): 2074-2078 (2026)

Edited by

Vini Mehta

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.