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Nanoplastics are neither microplastics nor engineered nanoparticles

Nature Nanotechnology volume 16, pages 501–507 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Increasing concern and research on the subject of plastic pollution has engaged the community of scientists working on the environmental health and safety of nanomaterials. While many of the methods developed in nano environment, health and safety work have general applicability to the study of particulate plastics, the nanometric size range has important consequences for both the analytical challenges of studying nanoscale plastics and the environmental implications of these incidental nanomaterials. Related to their size, nanoplastics are distinguished from microplastics with respect to their transport properties, interactions with light and natural colloids, a high fraction of particle molecules on the surface, bioavailability and diffusion times for the release of plastic additives. Moreover, they are distinguished from engineered nanomaterials because of their high particle heterogeneity and their potential for rapid further fragmentation in the environment. These characteristics impact environmental fate, potential effects on biota and human health, sampling and analysis. Like microplastics, incidentally produced nanoplastics exhibit a diversity of compositions and morphologies and a heterogeneity that is typically absent from engineered nanomaterials. Therefore, nanoscale plastics must be considered as distinct from both microplastics and engineered nanomaterials.

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Fig. 1: Number of publications obtained from Scopus that use the search terms shown in the title, abstract and/or keywords in the past four decades.
Fig. 2: Transformations and characteristics of plastic debris in the environment from the microscale to the nanoscale.

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Fig. 3: Relative proportion of NOM compared with plastic according to the size of plastic debris.

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Acknowledgements

J.G. acknowledges funding from the French Agency of Research. B.N. acknowledges funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowships programme and the Eugenie Ulmer Lamothe fund in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McGill University. N.T. acknowledges funding from the Canada Research Chairs programme, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Killam Research Fellowship. L.R. acknowledges support from Mitacs and Merinov.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. TAKUVIK, IRL3376 CNRS/Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada

    Julien Gigault

  2. E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Pau, France

    Hind El Hadri & Bruno Grassl

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Brian Nguyen, Laura Rowenczyk & Nathalie Tufenkji

  4. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology (CEINT), Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Siyuan Feng & Mark Wiesner

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Correspondence to Julien Gigault or Nathalie Tufenkji.

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Gigault, J., El Hadri, H., Nguyen, B. et al. Nanoplastics are neither microplastics nor engineered nanoparticles. Nat. Nanotechnol. 16, 501–507 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-021-00886-4

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