Microplastics in cardiopulmonary bypass: quantification and characterisation of particles across systems

Green, Jordan L; Field, Daniel T; Bennett, Robert; Jenner, Lauren C; Chapman, Emma C; Sadofsky, Laura R; Rotchell, Jeanette M; Loubani, Mahmoud

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This study determines the microplastic (MP) levels, dimension, shape, and chemical composition generated from conventional cardiopulmonary bypass and minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation (MiECC) circuits.
METHODS
In vitro conventional and MiECC circuits, mimicking realistic setups with 2 L of Hartmann’s solution were run for 90 min (n = 3 circuit runs each), filtered, and analysed using micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy alongside procedural blanks (n = 5).
RESULTS
Conventional circuits produced 60.4 ± 7.6 MPs L−1h−1 (77.0% of the total particles). MiECC circuits produced 48.4 ± 31.3 MPs L−1h−1 (45.3% of total particles). MP levels in each circuit type were significantly elevated compared with procedural blank (n = 5) samples (5.6 ± 10.4 MPs L−1h−1) but did not differ with respect to the other. Twenty different MP polymer types were detected whereby polydimethyl siloxane, poly(decyl methacrylate), and poly(N-butyl methacrylate) represented the most MPs within conventional circuits. For MiECC, the most abundant were polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyamide. Average MP lengths differed significantly: 93.5 ± 98.6 µm (conventional) versus 62.0 ± 54.4 µm (MiECC) (P < 0.001), although widths did not differ. Film particles (48.2%) were the predominant shape for conventional circuits and fragments (50.5%) for MiECC.
CONCLUSIONS
Significant levels of MP particles were produced across the two systems. Future studies can determine the time points at which they are produced in machine use, to mitigate their production, as well as inform cell/tissue culture investigations into the clinical significance of their introduction into patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Citation

Green, J. L., Field, D. T., Bennett, R., Jenner, L. C., Chapman, E. C., Sadofsky, L. R., Rotchell, J. M., & Loubani, M. (2025). Microplastics in cardiopulmonary bypass: quantification and characterisation of particles across systems. Interdisciplinary CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery, 40(6), Article ivaf080. https://doi.org/10.1093/icvts/ivaf080

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 9, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jun 10, 2025
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 11, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 17, 2025
• Journal: Interdisciplinary CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery
• Print ISSN: 1569-9293
• Electronic ISSN: 1569-9285
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: ivaf080
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icvts/ivaf080
• Keywords: microplastic, polymer, cardiopulmonary bypass, minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation (MiECC), FTIR
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/5237242