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Analytical Techniques for Microplastics in Drinking Water
Summary
Tiny plastic particles have been showing up in our drinking water, and scientists are still working out the best ways to detect and measure them—this review compares the main tools available, from simple visual checks to advanced techniques like infrared and Raman spectroscopy that can spot particles as small as 1 micrometer (much thinner than a human hair). The big takeaway: there's no single agreed-upon method yet for testing water safety, which makes it harder to know exactly how much plastic we're actually consuming and to set consistent safety standards—something researchers say needs to be fixed soon.
Microplastic (MP) pollution is an emerging issue in recent years. Research has confirmed that the existence of MP is found surprisingly in drinking water. Research on the analytical technique for MPs in different drinking water sources is highlighted in this review. In general, pre-treatment for MP detection in drinking water is simpler since it contains lesser particles and organic matters. Currently, the detectable particle size is ranged from 50 nm to 5000 μm in drinking water. For basic physical characterisation, visual inspection is a simple and direct analytical method with lower cost, though it is subjective and cannot identify polymer types. For definitive chemical characterisation, spectroscopic techniques are standard. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is well-suited for the automated analysis of particles larger than 20 μm, while Raman spectroscopy excels at identifying the molecular structure of smaller particles, down to 1 μm, albeit with longer analysis times. For mass quantification, pyrolysis-gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GCMS) offers a comprehensive analysis of MPs and can be considered a feasible method for various sample matrices; however, it is destructive and lacks information on size distribution. Moreover, the analysis can be complex due to the products from pyrolysis, whereas a total organic carbon (TOC) analyser offers a rapid and simple alternative for measuring MP-carbon mass, though it yields no morphological information. Lack of standardisation of method creates a challenge in MP detection. MP pollution is an ongoing environmental concern; it must be addressed. Therefore, standardisation of detection method and further studies should be considered.