Identification of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Nanoplastics in Commercially Bottled Drinking Water Using...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Micro/nanoplastics are pervasive global contaminants impacting human and ecosystem health.
• Current analytical methods struggle with the sensitive and reliable detection of trace nanoplastics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient and sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-active substrate for nanoplastic detection.
• To demonstrate the substrate's capability in identifying and quantifying nanoplastics in real-world samples like bottled water.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a SERS-active substrate featuring triangular cavity arrays.
• Detection of standard polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics down to 50 nm using the SERS substrate.
• Analysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nanoplastics in commercially bottled drinking water.

Main Results:

• The SERS substrate achieved high performance for PS nanoplastic detection with a limit of 0.001% (1.5 × 10¹¹ particles/mL).
• PET nanoplastics in bottled water were detected with an average size of ~88.2 nm.
• Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) estimated sample concentration at ~10⁸ particles/mL, with an estimated annual human consumption of ~10¹⁴ particles from bottled water.

Conclusions:

• The developed SERS substrate offers a facile, highly sensitive, and reliable approach for detecting trace nanoplastics in aquatic environments.
• This advancement facilitates better monitoring of nanoplastic contamination and its potential health implications.