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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis
Published on: December 16, 2016
Nanoplastics in aquatic systems - are they more hazardous than microplastics?
Christine C Gaylarde1, José Antonio Baptista Neto2, Estefan Monteiro da Fonseca2
1Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Oklahoma University, 770 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
Abstract:
The fragmentation of plastic materials into nanoparticles of less than 1000 nm (secondary nanoplastics) and their possible accumulation in the environment is a recent matter of concern. There are still no suitable standard methods for determining the concentrations and chemical makeup of these particles in aquatic systems and the fate and effect of nanoplastics in the aquatic environment has been little explored, although there has been research using engineered nanoparticles as models. In this review, we give a summary of the (mainly laboratory-based) studies on the influences of nanoplastics. We aim to provide an updated overview of this emerging topic, reviewing the literature mainly from 2018 onwards and considering the effects of nanoplastics on ecosystems, their uptake and transport of polluting molecules, and the challenges that are faced by workers in this area. The review includes 119 references.
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