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Possibilities and Limitations of AFM-IR to Detect Nanoplastic Particles in the Atmosphere

Environmental Science Nano 2026 Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Nico Kummer, Stefan Horender, Tero S. Kulmala, Konstantina Vasilatou, Christoph Hueglin, Rälf Kaegi

Summary

Researchers evaluated the capabilities and limitations of AFM-IR spectroscopy for detecting nanoplastic particles in atmospheric samples. They found that while the technique can identify individual nanoplastic particles, significant challenges remain in quantifying atmospheric nanoplastic concentrations due to detection limits and sample preparation complexity. The study highlights the need for improved analytical methods to assess human inhalation exposure to nanoplastics.

Body Systems

Potential impacts of nanoplastic particles (NPs) on human health through cellular uptake following inhalation have raised increasing concern. However, detection and quantification of atmospheric NPs remain challenging because most analytical...

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