Oral 14C-Microplastic Ingestion

Launched by WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY · Jul 10, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how tiny plastic particles, called microplastics, move through the body after being swallowed. Specifically, researchers want to see how much of these small plastic pieces enter the bloodstream, where they travel in the body, and how they leave through urine and stool. The study involves healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 65 who don’t have certain health issues like diabetes, heart disease, or digestive problems.

If you join the study, you will take a very small, safe amount of specially labeled microplastics by mouth. You will stay at a research facility for 24 hours so the team can watch you closely and collect samples. After that, you’ll visit the lab daily for four more days to provide blood, urine, and stool samples. This helps researchers track exactly what happens to the microplastics over time. Participants also need to have regular bowel movements and use contraception if applicable. The study does not compare different groups, and it’s important that volunteers meet all the health and lifestyle requirements to ensure safety and accurate results.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Healthy males and females using contraception during and for 3 months after the study.
• • Aged from 18-65 years at the time of signing informed consent
• • 18.5 \< BMI \< 25 kg·m-2
• • Must be willing and able to communicate and participate in the whole study
• • Must have regular bowel movements (i.e. average stool production of ≥1 and ≤3 stools per day)
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Diabetes (Type 1, Type 2, or genetic form of diabetes)
• • Any diagnosed cardiovascular (heart) disease or high blood pressure (≥140 mmHg systolic and/or ≥90 mmHg diastolic)
• • History of clinically significant cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, chronic respiratory or gastro-intestinal disease, immunodeficiency, endocrine, neurological or psychiatric disorders
• • Known severe kidney problems
• • Subjects who have regular gastrointestinal complaints including abdominal pain, stomach upsets and borborygmi, known or suspected irritable bowel syndrome, or functional constipation
• • Recent or chronic history of diarrhoea
• • Known anaemia
• • Known impaired liver function
• • A personal or family history of thrombosis (clots), epilepsy, seizures, or schizophrenia.
• • Chronic use of any prescribed or over the counter pharmaceuticals (excluding oral contraceptives and contraceptive devices)
• • History of any drug or alcohol abuse in the past two years
• • A confirmed positive alcohol breath test at screening or admission
• • Any known food allergies or intolerances to the 14 major food allergens (celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites) or history of a malabsorption syndrome including coeliac disease
• • Currently taking part in other scientific research
• • Having received a product with 14C in the past 12 months
• • Pregnant or breastfeeding
• • Subjects who have taken antibiotics within the 60 days prior to the adaptation period.
• • Unable to give consent
• • Employed or undertaking a thesis or internship at the department of Human and Animal Physiology