TY - JOUR A1 - Bartczak, Dorota A1 - Sikora, Aneta A1 - Goenaga-Infante, Heidi A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Drexel, Roland A1 - Meier, Florian A1 - Alasonati, Enrica A1 - Lelong, Marc A1 - Cado, Florence A1 - Chivas-Joly, Carine A1 - Fadda, Marta A1 - Sacco, Alessio A1 - Rossi, Andrea Mario A1 - Pröfrock, Daniel A1 - Wippermann, Dominik A1 - Barbero, Francesco A1 - Fenoglio, Ivana A1 - Booth, Andy M. A1 - Sørensen, Lisbet A1 - Igartua, Amaia A1 - Wouters, Charlotte A1 - Mast, Jan A1 - Barbaresi, Marta A1 - Rossi, Francesca A1 - Piergiovanni, Maurizio A1 - Mattarozzi, Monica A1 - Careri, Maria A1 - Caebergs, Thierry A1 - Piette, Anne-Sophie A1 - Parot, Jeremie A1 - Giovannozzi, Andrea Mario T1 - Multiparameter characterisation of a nano-polypropylene representative test material with fractionation, light scattering, high-resolution microscopy, spectroscopy, and spectrometry methods N2 - Reference and quality control materials with comparable physicochemical properties to nanoplastic contaminants present in environmental and food nanoplastics are currently lacking. Here we report a nanoplastic polypropylene material prepared using a top-down approach involving mechanical fragmentation of larger plastics. The material was found to be homogeneous and stable in suspension and has been characterised for average particle size, size distribution range, particle number concentration, polypropylene mass fraction and inorganic impurity Content using a wide range of analytical methods, including AF4, cFFF, PTA, (MA)DLS, MALS, SEM, AFM, TEM, STEM, EDS,Raman, ICP-MS and pyGC-MS. The material was found to have a broad size distribution, ranging from 50 nm to over 200 nm, with the average particle size value dependent on the technique used to determine it. Particle number concentration ranged from 1.7–2.4 × 1010 g−1 , according to PTA. Spectroscopy techniques confirmed that the material was polypropylene, with evidence of aging due to an increased level of oxidation. The measured mass fraction was found to depend on the marker used and ranged between 3 and 5 μg g−1 . Inorganic impurities such as Si, Al, Mg, K, Na, S, Fe, Cl and Ca were also identified at ng g−1 levels. Comparability and complementarity across the measurement methods and techniques is also discussed. KW - Polypropylene KW - Nanoplastics KW - Analytics KW - Reference material KW - Scattering methods PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-654680 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EN00917K SN - 2051-8153 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-65468 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Putzu, Mara A1 - Barbaresi, Marta A1 - Fadda, Marta A1 - Sacco, Alessio A1 - Piergiovanni, Maurizio A1 - Masino, Matteo A1 - Bianchi, Federica A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Benismail, Nizar A1 - Coïc, Laureen A1 - Fenoglio, Ivana A1 - Mattarozzi, Monica A1 - Rossi, Andrea Mario A1 - Careri, Maria A1 - Giovannozzi, Andrea Mario T1 - Accuracy assessment of a micro-Raman spectroscopy method for small microplastic particles in infant milk formula N2 - The presence of microplastics (MPs) in the food chain is increasingly documented, raising concerns over potential risks to human health. Despite growing efforts, standardized methods for MPs detection in food matrices remain limited. This study presents an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) aimed at assessing the accuracy and comparability of an analytical approach for the identification and quantification of small MPs (5–100 μm) in infant milk powder using μ-Raman spectroscopy and a representative polyethylene terephthalate (PET) reference material (RM). The RM, formulated as water-soluble tablets, was designed to replicate the morphology, size distribution, and polymer composition of environmentally relevant MPs, and was previously assessed for homogeneity and stability for mass fraction and particle numbers. The approach was assessed using two PET RM batches with different MPs particle numbers (high load batch: 1759 ± 141 MPs; low load batch: 160 ± 22 MPs), subjected to an enzymatic–chemical digestion, followed by μ-Raman analysis performed independently in two laboratories with different instruments and operators. Results are reported as absolute particle counts per analyzed sample and demonstrated excellent recovery across all size classes, including the smallest particles (down to 5 μm), with recovery rates ranging from 82 % to 88 %, in good agreement with the RM reference values. The analytical approach proved to be robust, reproducible, and suitable for low-level MPs quantification in complex food matrices, supporting ongoing efforts toward method harmonization and standardization for reliable MPs monitoring in the food sector. KW - Microplastics KW - Milk KW - Raman microspectroscopy PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-646239 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talo.2025.100586 SN - 2666-8319 VL - 12 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-64623 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fadda, Marta A1 - Sacco, Alessio A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Ciornii, Dmitri A1 - Milczewski, Frank A1 - Bañares, Miguel A. A1 - Portela, Raquel A1 - Giovannozzi, Andrea Mario A1 - Rossi, Andrea Mario T1 - Tracking nanoplastics in drinking water: a new frontier with the combination of dielectrophoresis and Raman spectroscopy N2 - Detection of micro- (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) in food and environmental matrices has been gaining relevance due to their potential toxicological effects on human health. While MPs have been detected in a wide range of complex matrices, suitable methods for the characterization and chemical identification of NPs are still lacking, primarily due to significant methodological challenges associated with their nano-specific physiochemical properties, including size distribution (1 nm – 1 µm), dynamic surface chemical changes, and carbon-based composition, which complicate their detection compared to engineered nanomaterials. To overcome the traditional limitations of spectroscopic techniques in terms of spatial resolution and sensitivity at the sub-micrometer level, a novel label-free methodology is presented for specifically identifying the chemical composition of NPs directly in suspension by combining Raman spectroscopy with dielectrophoresis (DEP). Using a custom-built device, small volumes of NPs are injected into a dielectrophoretic cell and locally trapped by DEP forces to fill the Raman confocal volume, facilitating their detection and identification, and providing high signal-to-noise ratio Raman spectra for more reliable analysis. This approach was successfully applied to both Milli-Q water and a commercial brand of drinking water, enabling the rapid identification of various types of NPs with different sizes and polymer compositions at concentrations as low as 20 µg/mL. These included certified reference polystyrene beads ranging from 800 to 60 nm in diameter, as well as polydisperse NPs, more representative of real samples in terms of size distribution and polymer type, such as polyethylene (450 nm), polypropylene (180 nm), and polyethylene terephthalate (100 nm). Moreover, the chemical fingerprint of each NPs was thoroughly investigated and compared with the corresponding bulk polymers, highlighting possible changes in the Raman bands due to surface oxidation or nanometer-scale effect. Therefore, this innovative method can be considered a valuable approach for addressing gaps in the detection and identification of NPs, as well as for monitoring their dynamic phisiochemical changes in real matrices. KW - Nanoplastics KW - Water contaminants KW - Raman microspectroscopy KW - Dielectrophoresis PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-633658 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-025-00131-y SN - 2662-4966 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-63365 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -