Cited by 363Microplastics and Plastic PollutionAnalytical chemistry methods developmentMass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications

Micro- and Nanoplastics in Alpine Snow: A New Method for Chemical Identification and (Semi)Quantification in the Nanogram Range

Open access
Materić, Dušan, Kasper-Giebl, Anne, Kau, Daniela, Anten, Marnick, Greilinger, Marion, Ludewig, Elke, van Sebille, Erik, Röckmann, Thomas +1 more·2020·Environmental Science & Technology

Abstract

We present a new method for chemical characterization of micro- and nanoplastics based on thermal desorption–proton transfer reaction–mass spectrometry. The detection limit for polystyrene (PS) obtained is <1 ng of the compound present in a sample, which results in 100 times better sensitivity than those of previously reported by other methods. This allows us to use small volumes of samples (1 mL) and to carry out experiments without a preconcentration step. Unique features in the high-resolution mass spectrum of different plastic polymers make this approach suitable for fingerprinting, even when the samples contain mixtures of other organic compounds. Accordingly, we got a positive fingerprint of PS when just 10 ng of the polymer was present within the dissolved organic matter of snow. Multiple types of microplastics (polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride, and polypropylene carbonate), were identified in a snowpit from the Austrian Alps; however, only PET was detected in the nanometer range for both snowpit and surface snow samples. This is in accordance with other publications showing that the dominant form of airborne microplastics is PET fibers. The presence of nanoplastics in high-altitude snow indicates airborne transport of plastic pollution with environmental and health consequences yet to be understood.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1021/acs.est.9b07540

Cites

25 of 25 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Thermal desorption proton transfer mass spectrometry can be used for higher-throughput measurements.

    “Only a recent development-using thermal desorption proton transfer mass spectrometry can be used for higher-throughput measurements.98”
  • Nanoplastics were first discovered in 2017 in the marine environment because methods for detection and quantification were only developed recently.

    “However, nanoplastics were for the rst time discovered in 2017 in the marine environment, 66 because methods for the detection and quantication of environmental nanoplastics were only developed recently.67,98,99,138”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Materić, D., Kasper-Giebl, A., Kau, D., Anten, M., Greilinger, M., Ludewig, E., van Sebille, E., Röckmann, T., & Holzinger, R.
Affiliations
  • Utrecht University , , Princetonplein 5 , ,
  • Vienna University of Technology , , ,
  • TU Wien (AT)
  • Utrecht University (NL)
  • Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics (AT)
Venue
Environmental Science & Technology
Published
2020-01-17
Volume
54
Issue
4
Pages
2353-2359
ISSN
  • 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-5851
OpenAlex
W2999291353
Cited by
363
References
25
Citations by year
2026: 44 · 2025: 70 · 2024: 60 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 70 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 17
FWCI
11.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • H2020 European Research Council (715386)
  • Netherlands Earth System Science Centre (NA)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Analytical Chemistry › Analytical chemistry methods development
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Spectroscopy › Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications
Keywords
microplastics, nanoplastics, alpine snow, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, poly(propylene carbonate), dissolved organic matter, snow pits, Austrian Alps
MeSH terms
Austria, Environmental Monitoring, Plastics, Snow, Water Pollutants, Chemical

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review