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. 2025 Aug 5:493:138322.
doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138322. Epub 2025 Apr 17.

Rapid detection of microplastics and nanoplastics in seconds by mass spectrometry

Mengyuan Xiao  1 , Yongqing Yang  1 , Hanin Alahmadi  1 , Allison Harbolic  1 , Gina M Moreno  2 , Terry Yu  1 , Jerry Liu  1 , Alex Guo  1 , Genoa R Warner  1 , Phoebe A Stapleton  2 , Hao Chen  3
Affiliations

Rapid detection of microplastics and nanoplastics in seconds by mass spectrometry

Mengyuan Xiao et al. J Hazard Mater. .

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are pervasive pollutants and their analyses by traditional mass spectrometric methods require time-intensive sample preparation (e.g., extraction, digestion, and separation). This study presents a rapid and novel method for detecting MPs and NPs using flame ionization mass spectrometry (FI-MS) in which a dried sample (e.g., powder, soil and tissue) is directly burnt or heated with a flame in front of the MS inlet. FI-MS enables decomposition and ionization of various plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS), allowing for analysis to be completed as fast as 10 seconds per sample. As a demonstration of application of this technique, PET contaminants in 1 L of bottled water or in 0.65 L of apple juice contained in plastic bottles were quickly detected from a filter paper after sample filtration and brief drying. A 0.89 mg soil sample spiked with 6000 ppm PET microplastics was measured to contain 4.98 µg of PET (5595 ppm, quantitation error: 6.8 %). Strikingly, PS nanoplastics (200 nm size) in mouse placentas were successfully identified and quantified, highlighting the method's ability to analyze biological tissue without tedious sample preparation. Overall, this study demonstrates the high potential of FI-MS for real-world sample analysis of MPs and NPs in environmental, biological, or consumer product samples.

Keywords: Biological tissue; Flame ionization; Plastic pollutant; Soil.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Hao Chen reports financial support that was provided by National Science Foundation. Hao Chen, Genoa R. Warner and Phoebe A. Stapleton report financial supports that were provided by National Institutes of Health. Phoebe A. Stapleton reports financial support that was provided by Herbert W. Hoover Foundation. Mengyuan Xiao and Hao Chen have a patent pending to NJIT. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
MS spectra showing direct analysis a) a piece of clear PET plastic bottle from local retailer and b) a piece of green-colored PET plastic bottle from local retailer by FI-MS.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
MS spectra showing direct flame ionization of microplastics of a) PET, b) PVC and c) PE introduced by a stainless-steel rod.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
FI-MS spectra collected from directly burning of a) a cellulose-based filter paper as a control blank, b) a cellulose-based filter paper after filtering 1 liter of commercial bottled water.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
a) FI-MS spectra obtained from different amounts of PET microplastics (diluted with silica powder), the absolute intensities of m/z 193.05 are labeled in the spectra; b) calibration curve of PET microplastics analyzed by FI-MS, c) FI-MS of a non-spiked soil sample, and d) FI-MS spectrum of a soil sample spiked with PET microplastics.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
a) FI-MS spectrum of standard PS nanoplastics; MS2 spectra of b) m/z 195.12 and c) m/z 207.12; and d) calibration curve for FI-MS analysis of 100 nm standard PS nanoplastics.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.
a) Darkfield hyperspectral microscopy image of mouse placenta. Pixel matches from a placenta exposed to 200 nm fluorescently labeled PS nanoplastic are indicated with white arrow and b) FI-MS spectra (background subtracted) of a placenta tissue from the mouse fed with 200 nm fluorescently labeled PS nanoplastics and a control placenta tissue from the mouse that was not fed with the PS nanoplastics.
Scheme 1.
Scheme 1.
Proposed thermal decomposition pathway of PET.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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