Microplastics are ubiquitously present in the environment, and growing research shows that microplastics can affect cells of the nervous system, but the potentially protective effect of the gastrointestinal barrier has been neglected.  This project aims to model biologically relevant intestinal microplastic exposure and consequent neuronal effects in vitro, using intestinal and neuronal cells to study microplastic uptake, toxicity and functional consequences. Intestinal epithelial cells and neurons will be exposed to microplastics for 48 hours to examine size-dependent microplastic uptake via confocal microscopy, and to study the functional effects of microplastic exposure using protein assays. In pilot experiments, enteroendocrine and intestinal epithelial cells were exposed to upto 80 μg/mL of 2 μm microplastics for 48 hours. Microplastic uptake was determined using fluorescent absorbance and confocal microscopy, and toxicity was determined by lactate dehydrogenase release. Microplastic internalisation by both intestinal cell lines was identified. This was a novel finding in enteroendocrine cells; however, uptake was greater in intestinal epithelial cells. Critically, this pilot evidence indicates that intracellular transport of microplastics through intestinal cell populations may be an important route by which microplastics cross from the gut lumen into peripheral circulation. Microplastics in the circulatory system are transported throughout the body becoming lodged in various organs  and potentially, the brain. Additionally, microplastic presence within cells is predicted to disturb the homeostatic function of cells particularly in the gut and brain. Thus, robust characterisation of how microplastics affect the gut and brain is critical to understanding the risk of microplastics to human health.