Challenges and Advances in Analytical Techniques to Detect Micro- and Nanoplastics

A comprehensive analysis of microplastics and nanoplastics requires determining their chemical composition and evaluating their physical properties, including mass, particle number, size, and morphology. Due to the diversity and complexity of micro- and nanoplastics, advanced analytical techniques are needed to detect, identify, quantify, and characterize these challenging analytes. This chapter will address already established mass-based (thermolytic) and particle-based (spectroscopic) techniques, including their strengths, limitations/challenges, and complementarity. Furthermore, we will focus on emerging coupled and innovative/breakthrough techniques for analyzing micro- and nanoplastics from environmental matrices.