With the global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), disposable face masks (DFMs) have caused negative environmental impacts. DFMs will release microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) during environmental degradation. However, few studies reveal the release process of MPs/NPs from masks in the natural environment. This review presents the current knowledge on the abiotic and biotic degradation of DFMs. Though MPs and NPs have raised serious concerns about their potentially detrimental effects on human health, little attention was paid to their impacts on human health from DFM-derived MPs and NPs. The potential toxicity of mask-derived MPs/NPs, such as gastrointestinal toxicity, pneumotoxicity, neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, reproductive and transgenerational toxicity, and the underlying mechanism will be discussed in the present study. MPs/NPs serve as carriers of toxic chemicals and pathogens, leading to their bioaccumulation and adverse effects of biomagnification by food chains. Given human experiments are facing ethical issues and animal studies cannot completely reveal human characteristics, advanced human organoids will provide promising models for MP/NP risk assessment. Moreover, in-depth investigations are required to identify the release of MPs/NPs from discarded face masks and characterize their transportation through the food chains. More importantly, innovative approaches and eco-friendly strategies are urgently demanded to reduce DFM-derived MP/NP pollution.

随着严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒-2 (SARS-CoV-2) 在全球的传播，一次性口罩 (DFM) 对环境造成了负面影响。 DFM 在环境退化过程中会释放微塑料 (MP) 和纳米塑料 (NP)。然而，很少有研究揭示自然环境中口罩中 MPs/NPs 的释放过程。本综述介绍了有关 DFM 非生物和生物降解的最新知识。尽管议员和国家议员对其对人类健康的潜在有害影响提出了严重关注，但很少有人关注源自 DFM 的议员和国家议员对人类健康的影响。本研究将讨论面罩衍生的 MPs/NPs 的潜在毒性，如胃肠道毒性、肺毒性、神经毒性、肝毒性、生殖和跨代毒性及其潜在机制。 MP/NP 作为有毒化学物质和病原体的载体，导致其生物蓄积和食物链生物放大的不利影响。鉴于人体实验面临伦理问题，而动物研究无法完全揭示人类特征，先进的人体类器官将为 MP/NP 风险评估提供有前景的模型。此外，需要进行深入调查，以确定废弃口罩中 MP/NP 的释放情况，并确定其在食物链中的运输特征。更重要的是，迫切需要创新方法和生态友好策略来减少 DFM 产生的 MP/NP 污染。