Measuring nanoplastics in the atmosphere and other environmental compartments by TD-PTR-MS

Plastic pollution has been recognised to be a global problem, as particles of various sizes have been detected in water, soil and air, from urban to remote areas. Nanoplastics have been suspected to be a significant environmental and health problem; however, until recently, no quantitative method was available to measure the nanoplastics in environmental samples. Thermal Desorption – Proton Transfer Reaction – Mass Spectrometry (TD-PTR-MS) offers a good sensitivity, which makes the technique capable of measuring nanoplastics in environmental samples in the sub-nanogram range – opening new venues for plastics-related research. So far, we have successfully measured and reported nanoplastics deposited on the snow surface in the Alps [1], remote field sites in the French Pyrenees [2], rural surface water in Sweden and Siberia [3], in the Dutch Wadden Sea [4], urban air [5], and Greenland ice core and Antarctica sea ice [6]. Here, we will discuss nanoplastic loads for these different environmental compartments and their connection to the atmospheric transport of nanoplastics. We will discuss the methodological challenges and research gaps associated with measuring ultrafine micro- and nanoplastics. 

[1] D. Materić, E. Ludewig, D. Brunner, T. Röckmann, and R. Holzinger, “Nanoplastics transport to the remote, high-altitude Alps,” Environ. Pollut., p. 117697, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117697.

[2] S. Allen et al., “An early comparison of nano to microplastic mass in a remote catchment’s atmospheric deposition,” J. Hazard. Mater. Adv., vol. 7, p. 100104, Aug. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.hazadv.2022.100104.

[3] D. Materić et al., “Presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface waters,” Environ. Res. Lett., vol. 17, no. 5, p. 054036, May 2022, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f7.

[4] D. Materić, R. Holzinger, and H. Niemann, “Nanoplastics and ultrafine microplastic in the Dutch Wadden Sea – The hidden plastics debris?,” Sci. Total Environ., vol. 846, p. 157371, Nov. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157371.

[5] B. Kirchsteiger, D. Materić, F. Happenhofer, R. Holzinger, and A. Kasper-Giebl, “Fine micro- and nanoplastics particles (PM2.5) in urban air and their relation to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,” Atmos. Environ., vol. 301, p. 119670, May 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2023.119670.

[6] D. Materić, H. A. Kjær, P. Vallelonga, J.-L. Tison, T. Röckmann, and R. Holzinger, “Nanoplastics measurements in Northern and Southern polar ice,” Environ. Res., vol. 208, p. 112741, May 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112741.