Current opinion: What is a nanoplastic?
Abstract
With the large amount of attention being given to microplastics in the environment, several researchers have begun to consider the fragmentation of plastics down to lower scales (i.e., the sub-micrometer scale). The term "nanoplastics" is still under debate, and different studies have set the upper size limit at either 1000 nm or 100 nm. The aim of the present work is to propose a definition of nanoplastics, based on our recently published and unpublished research definition of nanoplastics. We define nanoplastics as particles unintentionally produced (i.e. from the degradation and the manufacturing of the plastic objects) and presenting a colloidal behavior, within the size range from 1 to 1000 nm.
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Photooxidation can be complete leading to the terminal oxidation end product CO2 and, in conjunction with fragmentation, can lead to the formation of smaller molecules ranging from hydrocarbon gases to shorter-chain carbonyl compounds as well as nanoplastics.
“Photooxidation can be complete leading to the terminal oxidation end product CO 2 and in conjunction with fragmentation, it can then also lead to the formation of smaller molecules, ranging from hydrocarbon gases to shorterchain carbonyl compounds (e.g.straight chain or with aromaticity, depending on the parent polymer) 14,29,108 as well as nanoplastics.13,67,109”
From The fate of plastic in the ocean environment – a minireview (2021) · cites this paper as [13]
At the nanoscale, optical and chemical methods conventionally used for microplastic analysis are not suitable because of sensitivity issues and physical and optical limits.
“At the nanoscale, optical and chemical methods conventionally used for microplastic analysis are not suitable because of sensitivity issues as well as physical and optical limits.13,40,67,68,96”
From The fate of plastic in the ocean environment – a minireview (2021) · cites this paper as [13]
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- Authors
- Gigault, J., Halle, A. T., Baudrimont, M., Pascal, P.-Y., Gauffre, F., Phi, T.-L., El Hadri, H., Grassl, B., & Reynaud, S.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Évolution Paris Seine (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Gigault, Julien
- ORCID
- Venue
- Environmental Pollution
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-04
- Volume
- 235
- Pages
- 1030-1034
- ISSN
- 0269-7491 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2785715629
- Cited by
- 2,010
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 343 · 2025: 347 · 2024: 341 · 2023: 279 · 2022: 263 · 2021: 212 · 2020: 136 · 2019: 67 · 2018: 19 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 40.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Pollution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Oskar-Bordeaux (Universite de Bordeaux) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- French National Agency of Research (ANR-17-CE34-0008)
- French National Center for Scientific Research
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications
- Keywords
- nanoplastics, microplastics, colloidal behavior, plastic fragmentation, plastic degradation
- MeSH terms
- Environmental Monitoring, Terminology as Topic, Plastics, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Nanoparticles
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