Ahmad Nasri, Dhea Maisarah and Shamsul, Nur Rasyiqah and Faudzi, Fikriah and Ismail, Hamizah and Zainuddin, Norafiza (2026) Evaluating the suitability of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy for screening suspected microplastics (MPs) in human breast milk (HBM). International Journal of Allied Health Sciences, 10 (2). pp. 3372-3379. E-ISSN 2600-8491
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Abstract
Background:Microplastics (MPs) are increasingly detected in human biological samples, including human breast milk (HBM), raising concerns regarding infant exposure during early development. However, analysing MPs in HBM remains challenging due to its complex composition and limited standardised detection methods. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier-Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy for identifying MPs in HBM following enzymatic digestion and oxidative treatment. Methods: Processed samples were filtered, visually screened under a stereomicroscope, and analysed using ATR-FTIR. Spectral matches were compared with a polymer reference library. Results: Several polymer signatures were detected, including polypropylene (PP), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE), with match scores ranging from low to moderate confidence (0.43–0.55). These findings show that ATR-FTIR can support preliminary MP screening in HBM, but accuracy is limited by spectral resolution, library constraints and contamination risks. Improved contamination control upgraded software libraries, and integration of complementary techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and pyrolysis-GC-MS are recommended to strengthen reliability. Conclusion: Overall, this work provides early analytical insight into MP detection in HBM and highlights key considerations for method optimisation in future studies.
| Item Type: | Article (Journal) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Microplastics, human milk, lipid extraction, enzymatic digestion, KOH digestion |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QD Chemistry Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology T Technology > TP Chemical technology > TP1080 Polymers, plastics and their manufacture |
| Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button): | Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences > Department of Biomedical Science (Effective:1st July 2011) Kulliyyah of Science Kulliyyah of Science > Department of Marine Science Sultan Ahmad Shah Medical Centre (SASMEC) |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Norafiza Zainuddin |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Aug 2026 16:34 |
| Last Update: | 06 Aug 2026 16:34 |
| Queue Number: | 2026-07-Q4493 |
| URI: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/130483 |
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