{
  "abstract": "Respiratory exposure to microplastics (MPs) remains poorly quantified because most tissue-based studies neither report extraction recovery efficiency nor assess whole-organ burden. Using lamb lungs as a model, we validated a method for determining MP burden in lung tissue by comparing three digestion oxidants and three sample masses against four spiked reference polymers:polypropylene(PP),polystyrene (PS),low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8) digestion of 10 g freeze-dried tissue (~25% of the lamb lung) gave the best recovery (~70%) and was applied to lung tissue from captive-held Saharan ungulates (two adult gazelles, a pregnant gazelle with two fetuses, and a neonatal aoudad). Across the adult gazelles, fibres dominated the internal burden, with PP enriched among fragments and PET dominant among fibres, confirmed by micro-Fourier- transform infrared spectroscopy (µFTIR). Particles were overwhelmingly coarse (mostly 30 to ≥100 µm), with essentially none meeting respirable (<10 µm) or alveolar-like (<4 µm) size criteria, consistent with retention in conducting airways rather than alveolar deposition. No MPs were detected in either fetus or in the neonatal aoudad, suggesting postnatal rather than prenatal accumulation of pulmonary burden. This is, to our knowledge, the first recovery-characterized, whole-lung (one animal) and per-gram tissue-level (two animals) burdens in captive-held ungulates, providing a transferable framework for assessing respiratory MP exposure in captive-held life and livestock.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Experimental Station of Arid Zones, Spanish National Research Council (EEZA-CSIC), Road Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain",
    "Associated Unit “Chemistry and Environment” of the University of Almería (UAL) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)—Experimental Station of Arid Zones (EEZA), E-04120 Almeria, Spain",
    "Department of Chemistry and Physics, Research Centre for Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agri-Food, Biotechnology (CIAIMBITAL), University of Almeria, Agrifood Campus of International, Excellence, ceiA3, E-04120 Almería, Spain"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Laura Cortés Corrales",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-9464-4408"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sonia Domínguez Tejedor",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4892-4865"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Harshit Sahai",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5316-7937"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mengyan Huang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "María Jesús Martínez Bueno",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4321-6795"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "María Dolores Hernando"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Amadeo R. Fernández-Alba"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1ychzy60b1ew3.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/polym18212786",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1ychzy60b1ew3",
  "issns": [
    "2073-4360"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2786",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-07",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1ychzy60b1ew3.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-10T00:21:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/polym18212786",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2786"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "issn:2073-4360",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Respiratory Exposure to Microplastics in Captive-Held Mammals: Validated Lung Tissue Method with Recovery Efficiency and Internal Burden Evaluation in Ungulates",
  "title_text": "Respiratory Exposure to Microplastics in Captive-Held Mammals: Validated Lung Tissue Method with Recovery Efficiency and Internal Burden Evaluation in Ungulates",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-10T00:21:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1ychzy60b1ew3",
  "venue": "Polymers",
  "versions": []
}