Detection methods of micro and nanoplastics

Plastics andrelatedcontaminants(includingmicroplastics;MPsandnanoplastics;NPs) have becomeaseriousglobalsafetyissueduetotheiroveruseinmanyproductsand applications andtheirinadequatemanagement,leadingtopossibleleakageintothe environment andeventuallytothefoodchainandhumans.Thereisagrowingliterature reporting ontheoccurrenceofplastics,(MPsandNPs)inbothmarineandterrestrial organisms, withmanyindicationsabouttheharmfulimpactofthesecontaminants on plantsandanimals,aswellaspotentialhumanhealthrisks.ThepresenceofMPs and NPsinmanyfoodsandbeveragesincludingseafood(especiallyfinfish,crustaceans,bivalves, andcephalopods),fruits,vegetables,milk,wineandbeer,meat,andtablesalts, has becomepopularresearchareasinrecentyears.Detection,identification,and quantification ofMPsandNPshavebeenwidelyinvestigatedusingawiderangeof traditionalmethods,suchasvisualandoptical methods,scanningelectronmicros- copy,andgaschromatography–massspectrometry,butthesemethodsareburdened with anumberoflimitations.Incontrast,spectroscopictechniques,especially Fourier-transforminfraredspectroscopyandRamanspectroscopy,andotheremerg- ing techniques,suchashyperspectralimaging areincreasinglybeingapplieddueto their potentialtoenablerapid,non-destructive,andhigh-throughputanalysis.Despite huge researchefforts,thereisstillanoverarchingneedtodevelopreliableanalytical techniques withlowcostandhighefficiency.Mitigationofplasticpollutionrequires establishing standardandharmonizedmethods,adoptingholisticapproaches,and raising awarenessandengagingthepublicandpolicymakers.Therefore,thischapter focuses mainlyonidentificationandquantificationtechniquesofMPsandNPsin different foodmatrices(mostlyseafood).