Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Veliu_et_al_pyGCMS_data_supplementary_material

Researchers developed and validated substrate-specific calibration curves for pyrolysis-GC/MS quantification of HDPE, PET, PP, PS, and PVC microplastics in organic-rich samples, demonstrating that matrix composition significantly affects analytical accuracy when using standard inorganic calibration matrices.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Quantification Challenges in Polymer Analysis in Urban Runoff and Wastewater using Pressurized Liquid Extraction and Double-Shot Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

This study developed and validated a pressurized liquid extraction plus pyrolysis-GC/MS method for quantifying PE, PET, PP, and PS microplastics in urban runoff and wastewater, achieving 43–58% recoveries and addressing matrix-specific calibration challenges for standardized environmental analysis.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Quantification of polystyrene microplastics in soils by pyrolysis-GC-MS: Effects of matrix and polymer molecular weight

Researchers investigated the effects of polymer molecular weight and soil matrix composition on pyrolysis-GC-MS quantification of polystyrene microplastics, finding that low molecular weight PS produced fewer pyrolysis markers than high molecular weight PS and that soil matrices caused up to 5-fold quantification errors depending on the marker selected. Addition of poly(4-fluorostyrene) as an internal standard helped minimize matrix effects, improving the reliability of this analytical method.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Pyrolysis-GC/MS Reference Data for Polymeric and Refractory Materials to Evaluate C-PVC Indicator Specificity

This paper provides a reference dataset of chemical fingerprints — generated by pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry — to help researchers accurately identify chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (C-PVC) microplastics in environmental samples without confusing them with other materials. Environmental samples often contain complex mixtures of polymers, charcoal, soot, and natural materials that can produce overlapping signals, so having validated reference data is essential for reliable microplastic identification. Better analytical tools for distinguishing plastic types will improve the accuracy of microplastic contamination assessments.

2025 Publishing Network for Geoscientific and Environmental Data (PANGAEA) (Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

QuantificationChallenges in Polymer Analysis in UrbanRunoff and Wastewater using Pressurized Liquid Extraction and Double-ShotPyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

This study optimized a two-step pressurized liquid extraction method combined with pyrolysis-GC/MS to quantify PE, PET, PP, and PS in urban runoff and wastewater, achieving 43–58% recovery rates and identifying matrix-specific calibration requirements as a key challenge for standardized analysis.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Quantification of Microplastics by Pyrolysis Coupled with Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry in Sediments: Challenges and Implications

Researchers identified challenges in quantifying microplastics by pyrolysis-GC/MS in sediment samples, finding that incomplete matrix removal during purification can generate interfering pyrolysis products that lead to overestimation of microplastic concentrations.

2022 Microplastics 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Quantification and Polyethylene Overestimation in Agricultural Soil Using Large-Volume Pyrolysis and TD-GC-MS/MS

Researchers developed a method for quantifying microplastics in large soil samples using pyrolysis combined with thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. They found that organic matter in agricultural soils can cause significant overestimation of polyethylene concentrations, particularly when samples are not properly pre-treated. The study emphasizes the need for careful method validation to avoid false-positive microplastic measurements in complex environmental samples.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Secondary reactions in the analysis of microplastics by analytical pyrolysis

Polymer interactions during analytical pyrolysis of mixed microplastic samples were investigated, finding that co-pyrolysis of PET with PVC and polyamides produces secondary reaction products not characteristic of any individual polymer, which could compromise the accuracy of pyrolysis-GC-MS identification in real environmental samples.

2021 Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics analysis: can we carry out a polymeric characterisation of atmospheric aerosol using direct inlet Py-GC/MS?

Researchers tested pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for detecting polymer particles in atmospheric aerosol samples, proposing a novel method to calculate an organic baseline that accounts for interference from natural organic matter on filter samples.

2023 Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification of microplastic targets in environmental matrices using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

This study developed and validated a pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry protocol for quantifying common microplastic polymer types in complex environmental matrices, providing a reliable thermal analysis method for assessing microplastic pollution.

2024 Environmental Science Advances 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastic quantification using pyrolysis GC-MS: the hidden complexity

This editorial review examines the analytical challenges and hidden complexities of using pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for quantifying micro- and nanoplastics in environmental samples. The authors discuss sources of measurement uncertainty, matrix interference, and the limitations of current standardization approaches that complicate accurate nanoplastic quantification by this technique.

2025 Open Repository and Bibliography (University of Liège)
Article Tier 2

Influence of mineral and organic matrices on the thermal characterization of microplastics

Researchers investigated how mineral and organic matrices in sediments interfere with Rock-Eval thermal characterization of microplastics, finding that both matrix types alter key pyrolysis and oxidation parameters and must be accounted for when using this method to quantify microplastic pollution in sediments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Development of an analytical method for the analysis of microplastics by Pyrolysis-GC/MS : application on Seine River sediments

Researchers developed and validated an analytical method using pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) for quantifying microplastics in complex environmental matrices, applying it to Seine River sediment samples rich in mineral and organic matter. They found that Py-GC/MS effectively determined mass concentrations of target polymers and proved complementary to micro-FTIR, though interfering compounds from organic-rich matrices required careful method optimization.

2024 theses.fr (ABES)
Article Tier 2

Reference materials for microplastics in environmental matrices

This paper discussed the development and use of reference materials for microplastic analysis in environmental matrices, addressing the urgent need for calibration standards to ensure comparable and reliable measurements across different laboratories. Standardized reference materials are a foundational requirement for credible, policy-relevant microplastic monitoring.

2018
Article Tier 2

Reliable thermal mass quantification of PVC – An ongoing challenge

Researchers examined the challenges of reliably quantifying PVC using thermal analysis methods such as pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, highlighting the complexity of pyrolytic processes and the susceptibility to matrix interference from organic compounds. They found that PVC is a particularly problematic candidate because its thermal decomposition products can originate from multiple sources, requiring careful contextual interpretation of results to avoid misidentification.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics analysis in environmental samples – recent pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method improvements to increase the reliability of mass-related data

This study improved pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) methods for measuring mass-related microplastic data in environmental samples, enhancing reliability and sensitivity for trace-level analysis. Better analytical methods are essential for accurately quantifying microplastic contamination across diverse environmental matrices.

2019 Analytical Methods 224 citations
Article Tier 2

Reliable thermal mass quantification of PVC – An ongoing challenge

Researchers examined the challenges of reliably quantifying PVC using thermal analysis and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, noting that PVC is among the most analytically difficult polymer candidates due to its complex pyrolytic decomposition and potential for interference from multiple matrix sources. They found that contextual data interpretation is essential when analyzing polymer clusters in complex environmental samples, particularly where thermal decomposition products share origins with other organic matrix components.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

A practical method for mass quantification of microplastics in soil media using pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Researchers developed and validated a pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) method for quantifying polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene microplastics in soil, achieving low detection limits (0.02-0.44 microgram), strong linearity, and recovery rates of 86-100% across three soil types. Cryomilling improved homogeneity and accuracy by 3.2%, and FTIR confirmed polymer identities with over 85% spectral match.

2025 MethodsX
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Identification by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (py-GCMS)

This paper reviews pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) as a method for identifying and quantifying microplastics in environmental samples. The technique can identify specific polymer types even in complex environmental matrices where visual identification is difficult.

2019
Article Tier 2

Decomposability versus detectability: First validation of TED‐GC/MS for microplastic detection in different environmental matrices

Researchers validated TED-GC/MS as a fast microplastic detection method across different freshwater environmental matrices, finding that organic-rich sediments can affect polymer detectability and establishing matrix-specific limits of detection.

2023 Applied Research 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Towards quantitative microplastic analysis using pyrolysis-gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

Researchers worked to improve a lab technique called pyrolysis-GC/MS — which identifies plastics by heating them until they break apart into detectable chemical fragments — and found that mixing certain plastics together (especially PVC with others) produces unexpected reactions that can throw off measurements. Their findings highlight the urgent need for standardized international methods so that microplastic data from different labs can be reliably compared.

2024 Polymer Testing 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Reliable thermal mass quantification of PVC – an ongoing challenge

Researchers tested whether pyrolysis-based thermal analysis can reliably quantify polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in environmental microplastic samples, finding that no definitive chemical marker exists because PVC's breakdown products are shared by many other polymers. This makes accurate PVC quantification in complex environmental samples currently unfeasible, a significant gap for monitoring plastic pollution.

2025 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the environment: Sampling, pretreatment, analysis and occurrence based on current and newly-exploited chromatographic approaches

This review comprehensively examined sampling, pretreatment, and chromatographic analysis methods for microplastics in environmental matrices, evaluating conventional and newly developed approaches and identifying liquid chromatography and pyrolysis-GC/MS as the most promising platforms for chemical characterization of complex microplastic mixtures.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 70 citations
Article Tier 2

Mass concentration and distribution characteristics of microplastics in landfill mineralized refuse using efficient quantitative detection based on Py-GC/MS

Researchers developed an efficient Py-GC/MS method to quantify microplastics in landfill mineralized refuse, finding substantial concentrations of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene that could diffuse into surrounding environments through leachate.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 39 citations