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Spectro‐Microscopic Techniques for Studying Nanoplastics in the Environment and in Organisms
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This review examined spectro-microscopic techniques available for detecting and studying nanoplastics in environmental and biological samples. The study highlights that detecting nanoplastics remains challenging because their small size falls below the detection limits of common analytical tools, and their chemical composition is similar to organic matrices, making identification difficult.
Nanoplastics (NPs), small (<1 μm) polymer particles formed from bulk plastics, are a potential threat to human health and the environment. Orders of magnitude smaller than microplastics (MPs), they might behave differently due to their larger surface area and small size, which allows them to diffuse through organic barriers. However, detecting NPs in the environment and organic matrices has proven to be difficult, as their chemical nature is similar to these matrices. Furthermore, as their size is smaller than the (spatial) detection limit of common analytical tools, they are hard to find and quantify. We highlight different micro-spectroscopic techniques utilized for NP detection and argue that an analysis procedure should involve both particle imaging and correlative or direct chemical characterization of the same particles or samples. Finally, we highlight methods that can do both simultaneously, but with the downside that large particle numbers and statistics cannot be obtained.
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Spectro‐Microscopic Techniques for Studying Nanoplastics in the Environment and in Organisms
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This review examines spectro-microscopic techniques for detecting and characterizing nanoplastics (under 1 um) in environmental and biological matrices, arguing that effective analysis requires combining particle imaging with chemical characterization of the same particles, and highlighting methods capable of simultaneous morphological and chemical identification.
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This review covers analytical methods for detecting and quantifying micro- and nanoplastics across environmental samples, evaluating spectroscopic, microscopic, and thermal techniques. It assesses the strengths and limitations of each approach for different sample matrices.
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This overview reviews state-of-the-art analytical methods for identifying and characterizing microplastics, covering spectroscopic and microscopic approaches and their strengths and limitations for detecting plastic particles across environmental compartments including water, soil, and biological samples.
A Review of Spectroscopic Techniques used for the Quantification and Classification of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in the Environment
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This review evaluates spectroscopic techniques — including Raman, FTIR, NIR, ICP-MS, fluorescence, X-ray, and NMR — for identifying and quantifying microplastics and nanoplastics in environmental and biological matrices, covering methodologies, sample handling, and applications.
Methods and challenges in the detection of microplastics and nanoplastics: a mini‐review
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This review evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of analytical methods used to detect and identify microplastics and nanoplastics, including microscopy, spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry techniques. Researchers identified key challenges such as distinguishing genuine environmental microplastics from contamination introduced during sample collection and processing. The study provides recommendations for improving data quality and reliability in microplastic research.
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