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There is a growing concern within the medical community about the potential burden of microplastics on human organs and tissues. In this study, we investigated by microRaman spectroscopy the presence of microplastics in human kidneys and urine. Moreover, an open-access software was developed and validated for the project, which enabled the comparison between the investigated spectra and a self-created spectral database, thus enhancing the ability to characterize polymers and pigments in biological matrices. Healthy portions of ten kidneys obtained from nephrectomies, as well as ten urine samples from healthy donors were analyzed: 26 particles in both kidney and urine samples were identified, with sizes ranging from 3 to 13 μm in urine and from 1 to 29 μm in kidneys. The most frequently determined polymers are polyethylene and polystyrene, while the most common pigments are hematite and Cu-phthalocyanine. This preclinical study proves the presence of microplastics in renal tissues and confirms their presence in urine, providing the first evidence of kidney microplastics deposition in humans.

As a result of the lattice mismatch between the oxide itself and the substrate, the high-pressure structural properties of trivalent rare earth (RE)-doped ceria systems help to mimic the compressive/tensile strain in oxide thin films. The high-pressure structural features of Sm-doped ceria were studied by X-ray diffraction experiments performed on Ce1−xSmxO2−x/2 (x = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6) up to 7 GPa, and the cell volumes were fitted by the third order Vinet equation of state (EoS) at the different pressures obtained from Rietveld refinements. A linear decrease of the ln B 0 vs. ln ( 2 V a t ) trend occurred as expected, but the regression line was much steeper than predicted for oxides, most probably due to the effect of oxygen vacancies arising from charge compensation, which limits the increase of the mean atomic volume ( V a t ) vs. the Sm content. The presence of RE2O3-based cubic microdomains within the sample stiffens the whole structure, making it less compressible with increases in applied pressure. Results are discussed in comparison with ones previously obtained from Lu-doped ceria.

Transport and structural properties of heavily doped ceria can reveal subtle details of the interplay between conductivity and defects aggregation in this material, widely studied as solid electrolyte in solid oxide fuel cells. The ionic conductivity of heavily Gd-doped ceria samples (Ce1−xGdxO2−x/2 with x ranging between 0.31 and 0.49) was investigated by impedance spectroscopy in the 600−1000 K temperature range. A slope change was found in the Arrhenius plot at ~723 K for samples with x = 0.31 and 0.34, namely close to the compositional boundary of the CeO2-based solid solution. The described discontinuity, giving rise to two different activation energies, points at the existence of a threshold temperature, below which oxygen vacancies are blocked, and above which they become free to move through the lattice. This conclusion is well supported by Raman spectroscopy, due to the discontinuity revealed in the Raman shift trend versus temperature of the signal related to defects aggregates which hinder the vacancies movement. This evidence, observable in samples with x = 0.31 and 0.34 above ~750 K, accounts for a weakening of Gd−O bonds within blocking microdomains, which is compatible with the existence of a lower activation energy above the threshold temperature.