Identification of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Nanoplastics in Commercially Bottled Drinking Water Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Abstract

Micro/nanoplastics have emerged as global contaminants of serious concern to human and ecosystem health. However, identification and visualization of microplastics and particularly nanoplastics have remained elusive due to the lack of feasible and reliable analytical approaches, particularly for trace nanoplastics. Here, an efficient surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-active substrate with triangular cavity arrays is reported. The fabricated substrate exhibited high SERS performance for standard polystyrene (PS) nanoplastic detection with size down to 50 nm and a detection limit of 0.001% (1.5 × 1011 particles/mL). Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nanoplastics collected from commercially bottled drinking water were detected with an average mean size of ∼88.2 nm. Furthermore, the concentration of the collected sample was estimated to be about 108 particles/mL by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), and the annual nanoplastic consumption of human beings through bottled drinking water was also estimated to be about 1014 particles, assuming water consumption of 2 L/day for adults. The facile and highly sensitive SERS substrate provides more possibilities for detecting trace nanoplastics in an aquatic environment with high sensitivity and reliability.

Surface-Charge-Driven Ferroptosis and Mitochondrial Dysfunction Is Involved in Toxicity Diversity in the Marine Bivalve Exposed to Nanoplastics

“…philippinarum at the organism level, the clams were exposed to NPs for 35 days at concentrations mimicking environmental levels: 3.8 × 10 7 (low dose) and 3.8 × 10 9 (high dose) particles/mL (Figure a). It is noteworthy that the NP concentrations in aquatic environments typically range from 10 3 to 10 9 particles/mL. , The results indicated no significant mortality (Figure S2a). However, growth inhibition was observed, particularly at the high dose of p-NPs, suggesting a more pronounced effect (Figure S2b).…”

“…Acclimated clams were continuously exposed to NPs for a duration of 35 days, with concentrations set at 3.6 × 10 9 particles/mL, and each concentration was replicated five times. It is worth noting that this concentration was selected to represent environmentally relevant levels. , After the 35-day exposure period, the soft tissues of the clams were collected and fixed or flash-frozen with liquid nitrogen and subsequently stored at a temperature of −80 °C. A detailed description of the process for determining the Median Lethal Dose (LD 50 ) is provided in Supporting Note 2.…”

3D Plasmonic Gold Nanopocket Structure for SERS Machine Learning‐Based Microplastic Detection

“…[ 25–27 ] However, most of these studies use a SERS substrate comprising nanogaps, which limits the detection of large‐sized MPs in the micro to submicrometer range, because they are hard to be placed at the hotspot region, generating attenuated SERS signals far from the hotspot. [ 28–30 ] Furthermore, nanoparticle‐mediated MP aggregation for SERS signal generation exhibits limitations regarding signal uniformity, which are induced by heterogenous attachment of nanoparticles to the MP surface. [ 31 ] Therefore, the development of substrate‐type SERS materials that can capture and generate harmonized MP SERS signals can overcome conventional limitations.…”

“…[ 32 ] In addition, not only the concentration but also the number of MPs in the sample is simultaneously crucial to identify various MP types. [ 30,33,34 ] Therefore, a method that can verify the presence of MPs in a large area with a high resolution is required, as it will be able to perform individual particle analysis providing the shape information. [ 20 ]…”

Comprehensive Understanding of Self-Propelled Janus Pt/Fe2O3 Micromotor Dynamics: Impact of Size, Morphology, and Surface Structure

“…The pervasive problem of ocean pollution caused by microplastics has emerged as a global environmental crisis driven by the escalating utilization of plastics across diverse industries . Surprisingly, microplastics have also infiltrated an unexpected domain: bottled water, exacerbating the gravity of the issue. , This revelation has raised alarming concerns regarding environmental implications and potential health risks linked to microplastic ingestion . Therefore, there is a growing demand for the development of efficient and ecofriendly technologies designed to treat and remove microplastics .…”