The 146th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (Osaka)

Organizer: Yasuo Tsutsumi (Grad. Sch. Pharm. Sci., UOsaka), Yuya Haga (Grad. Sch. Pharm. Sci., UOsaka)

The impacts of plastic waste on the environment and human health have become a growing concern in recent years, as highlighted in SDGs. Among these, small plastic particles, such as microplastics (MPs; less than 5 mm) and nanoplastics (NPs; less than 1 μm), are present in the environment, including oceans, rivers, and the atmosphere, and in human tissues, such as the lungs, blood, placenta, and brain, drawing increasing attention to their potential effects on human health. Furthermore, recent studies revealed that environmental MPs and NPs (MNPs) may be involved in a variety of diseases and biological responses. However, it remains largely unclear which specific characteristics of MNPs actually contribute to these responses. In addition, MNPs in the environment exhibit a wide range of properties, including differences in material, size, and surface characteristics. In this symposium, we aim to share recent advances in understanding the occurrence and properties of MPs and NPs in the environment, developments in analytical methods, and the latest findings on their potential health effects, and to discuss future research directions and challenges.