Plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, i.e., microplastics, have been detected in a number of environments. The number of studies on microplastics in marine environments, fresh water, wastewater, the atmosphere, and the human body are increasing along with a rise in the amounts of plastic materials introduced into the environment every year, all contributing to a range of health and environmental issues. Although the use of primary microplastics has been gradually reduced by recent legislation in many countries, new knowledge and data on these problems are needed to understand the overall lifecycle of secondary microplastics in particular. The aim of this review is to provide unified information on the pathways of microplastics into the environment, their degradation, and related legislation, with a special focus on the methods of their sampling, determination, and instrumental analysis. To deal with the health and environmental issues associated with the abundance of microplastics in the environment, researchers should focus on agreeing on a uniform methodology to determine the gravity of the problem through obtaining comparable data, thus leading to new and stricter legislation enforcing more sustainable plastic production and recycling, and hopefully contributing to reversing the trend of high amounts of microplastics worldwide.

Anodization coloring of titanium tools or implants is one of the common methods for the differentiation of each application by its size or type. Commercial purity titanium grade 4 plates (50 × 20 × 0.1 mm) were tested to obtain their electrochemical and other technological properties. The coloring process was done using the potential of 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 Volts for 5 s in 1 wt. % citric acid in demineralized water solution. Organic acids solutions generally produce better surface quality compared to inorganic acids. The contact angle of colored surfaces was measured by the sessile drop method. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization were used for the determination of selected electrochemical and corrosion parameters of the tested surfaces. It was found that the anodization process decreases corrosion potential significantly. It was also confirmed that a higher potential used for anodization results in higher polarization resistance but also a decrease in corrosion potential. The anodization process at 75 V produces surfaces with the lowest corrosion rate under 1 nm/year and the noblest corrosion potential. It was confirmed that the anodization process in citric acid does not affect titanium cytotoxicity.

Solid particles, predominantly in micron and submicron sizes, have repeatedly been observed as a threat to a human health unique compared to the other textures of the same materials. In this work, the hypothesis the solid metal-based particles play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic hypertrophic rhinitis was investigated in patients who had not responded positively to medication. In the group of 40 randomly selected patients indicated for surgical mucotomy, the presence of solid micro- and submicron particles present in their nasal mucosa was assessed. For comparison, a set of 13 reference samples from patients without diagnosed chronic hypertrophic rhinitis was evaluated. The analysis was performed using Raman microspectroscopy. The advantage of this method is the direct identification of compounds. The main detected compounds in the mucosa samples of patients with chronic hypertrophic rhinitis were TiO₂, carbon-based compounds, CaCO₃, Ca(Fe, Mg, Mn)(CO₃)₂ MgCO₃, Fe₂O₃, BaSO₄, FeCO₃ and compounds of Al and Si, all of which may pose a health risk to a living organism. In the reference samples, only TiO₂ and amorphous carbon were found. In the control group mucosa, a significantly lower presence of most of the assessed compounds was found despite the longer time they had to accumulate them due to their higher mean age. Identification and characterisation of such chemicals compounds in a living organism could contribute to the overall picture of the health of the individual and lead to a better understanding of the possible causes not only in the chronic hypertrophic rhinitis, but also in other mucosal and idiopathic diseases.

An automotive friction brake pad is a complex system consisting of several components with unique and balanced properties related to operation conditions. There are efforts to develop brake pads with longer lifetime and better friction performance and wear properties. Those properties are related to composition of the pads, and therefore, new materials are being evolved. Tuning the friction and wear properties can be achieved with the selection of a functional filler and optimizing its amount in a formulation of friction brake pad. Laboratory-developed and laboratory-prepared nanocomposite material kaolin/TiO₂ (KATI) has been introduced to formulation of the commercially available automotive low-steel brake pad. Kaolin was utilized as a matrix for anchoring TiO₂ nanoparticles. New unused pads and pads after AK master, a standard dynamometer testing procedure of friction performance, were investigated using light and scanning electron microscopy providing information on the structure and its changes after the friction processes. Moreover, MTK wear test was used to compare wear rate of the newly developed pad with the reference low-steel pad. Improved durability of the brake pad formulation has been observed together with sufficient friction performance. Microscopic analysis shown homogenous distribution of the KATI nanocomposite in the friction layer. From the obtained results, it can be assumed that the new formulation is promising regarding to the life cycle of the pads and reduction of wear rate and thus potential production of wear particulate emissions.