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On the background of plastics nanoparticles in our research
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Researchers demonstrated that routine ultrasound treatment of standard laboratory test tubes releases nanoplastics into ultrapure water at concentrations up to 10 billion particles per milliliter, raising concern that plastic contamination from lab equipment itself may be an unrecognized confounding factor in nanoplastics research.
We must recognize that plastics likely constitute a pervasive background in many environments. Beyond their previously documented risks to ecosystems and human health, plastics may also exert unintended influences on laboratory experiments, potentially distorting experimental outcomes. Here, we demonstrate that ultrasound treatment of commonly used laboratory test tubes releases nanoplastics into ultrapure water, reaching concentrations of up to 1–2 × 10 10 particles mL -1 during water bath sonication, and we hypothesize how such contamination may affect experimental results.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.