Rapid chemical single-particle imaging of nanoplastics using SRS microscopy

For demonstration purposes, micro-nano-plastics in bottled water are analyzed with multidimensional profiling of individual plastic particles. The quantification suggests that there are more than 105 particles in every liter of bottled water, most of which are nanoplastics. This study promises to close the knowledge gap on plastic pollution at the nano level.

Kunststoffe sind mittlerweile in unserem täglichen Leben allgegenwärtig. Das Vorhandensein von Mikroplastik (1 µm bis 5 mm Länge) und möglicherweise sogar Nanoplastik (<1 µm) gibt in letzter Zeit Anlass zu gesundheitlichen Bedenken. Insbesondere Nanoplastik gilt als giftiger, da sie aufgrund ihrer geringeren Grösse im Vergleich zu Mikroplastik viel leichter in den menschlichen Körper gelangen können. Der Nachweis von Nanoplastik stellt jedoch enorme analytische Herausforderungen sowohl an die Empfindlichkeit auf Nanoebene als auch an die Spezifität der Kunststoffidentifizierung dar, was zu einer Wissenslücke in dieser mysteriösen Nanowelt um uns herumführt.

To address these challenges, we have developed a hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) imaging platform with an automated plastic identification algorithm that enables micro-nano plastic analysis at the single particle level with high chemical specificity and high throughput.

Scientists from the US universities Columbia and Rutgers have discovered an alarming amount of micro- and nanoplastic particles in bottled water. They found almost a quarter of a million of these tiny plastic particles in an average liter of bottled water.

The particles were identified and categorized for the first time with a microscope that uses two lasers. Although scientists had already suspected that such particles were present in large numbers, it was only now that precise measurements and typing could be carried out.

These findings have led some researchers to reduce their consumption of bottled water.

Naixin Qian, Xin Gao, Xiaoqi Lang, Wei Min