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Picogram-Level Nanoplastic Analysis with Nanoelectromechanical System Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy: NEMS-FTIR
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This review examined the biodegradability of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) across different environmental compartments including soil, freshwater, marine, and composting conditions. The review found highly variable degradation rates depending on environmental conditions, underscoring the importance of context when making biodegradability claims about bio-based plastics.
We present a photothermal infrared spectroscopy-based approach for the chemical characterization and quantification of nanoplastics. By combining the high sensitivity of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) with the wide spectral range and ubiquity of commercially available Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers, NEMS-FTIR offers a time-efficient and cryogen-free option for the rapid, routine analysis of nanoplastics in aqueous samples. Polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics with nominal diameters ranging from 54 to 262 nm were analyzed by NEMS-FTIR with limits of detection ranging from 101 to 353 pg, 1 order of magnitude lower than values reported for pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of nanoplastics. The absorptance measured by NEMS-FTIR could be further converted to absolute sample mass using the attenuation coefficient, as demonstrated for polystyrene. Thanks to the wide spectral range of NEMS-FTIR, nanoplastic particles from different polymers could be readily identified, even when present in a mixture. The potential of NEMS-FTIR for the analysis of real samples was demonstrated by identifying the presence of nanoplastics released in water during tea brewing. Polyamide leachates in the form of fragments and smaller oligomers could be identified in the brewing water without sample preconcentration, even in the presence of an organic matrix. Accelerated aging of the nylon teabags under elevated temperature and UV radiation showed further release of polyamide over time.
More Papers Like This
Picogram-Level Nanoplastic Analysis with Nanoelectromechanical System Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy: NEMS-FTIR
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Researchers developed a NEMS-FTIR approach combining nanoelectromechanical systems with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for chemical characterization and quantification of nanoplastics, achieving picogram-level detection limits ranging from 101 to 353 pg for polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics with diameters from 54 to 262 nm.
B2.4 - Nanoelectromechanical System Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (NEMS-FTIR) for Nanoplastic and Polymer Degradation Analysis
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Researchers developed a highly sensitive technique combining nanoelectromechanical systems with infrared spectroscopy (NEMS-FTIR) that can detect as little as 1 nanogram of polystyrene or polypropylene nanoplastic particles as small as 54 nm in diameter. This breakthrough in detection sensitivity could greatly improve researchers' ability to identify and characterize nanoplastics — the tiniest and hardest-to-detect form of plastic pollution — in environmental and biological samples.
Nanoplastic Identification and Quantification with Nanoelectromechanical System-Based Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy: NEMS-FTIR
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Researchers introduced NEMS-FTIR, a technique coupling nanoelectromechanical systems with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, enabling rapid chemical identification of nanoplastic particles with picogram sensitivity and minimal sample preparation. Detecting nanoplastics at such small scales is a critical barrier to understanding their environmental and biological impacts, and this method addresses a major analytical gap.
Characterization of microplastics in tap water by optical photothermal infrared
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Researchers used optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy to characterize microplastics in tap water, identifying particles as small as a few micrometers that conventional FTIR techniques cannot resolve. The higher detection sensitivity revealed that microplastic concentrations in drinking water are likely underestimated by standard methods.
Using Infrared Photothermal Heterodyne Imaging to Characterize Micro- and Nanoplastics in Complex Environmental Matrices
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Researchers introduced infrared photothermal heterodyne imaging (IR-PHI) as a 300 nm resolution technique for identifying and quantifying micro- and nanoplastics in complex environmental matrices, demonstrating its application to nylon tea bag leachates and sediment samples.
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