An overview of analytical methods for detecting microplastics in the atmosphere

Abstract

Global microplastic pollution has aroused an emerging concern, and in recent years, a variety of studies have focused on the concentrations of microplastics in different ecosystem. To date, standard methods for detecting microplastics have not been established, which impedes comparisons among the reported results from different studies. This review summarizes the current methods and technologies applied in sampling, extracting and identifying microplastics from the atmosphere. Passive atmospheric deposition and active pumped samplers are two general methods used to sample airborne microplastics. Stereomicroscope, FTIR, SEM, Pyr-GC/MS, and Raman spectroscopy are commonly employed for identification and quantification of microplastics. This review also discusses the limitations of these methods, and quality control for accurate results. This review provides a comprehensive summary of methods used for the detection of airborne microplastics and highlights the need to establish standard approaches in future research.