Identification of microplastic particles in environmental water and food using pyrolysis GC with high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry

Microplastics are widely present in the terrestrial and aquatic environment and can easily migrate from the environment into the food chain due to their small size, posing a threat to human health. Microplastics originate from cosmetic and medical products, and from debris formed through the fragmentation of larger items made from synthetic polymers. Thermo Fisher Scientific demonstrates the effectiveness of pyrolysis-gas chromatography-Orbitrap™ mass spectrometry for the detection and identification of common polymers in food and environmental samples. Discover how this analytical approach enables time-saving detection of bulk amounts of micro- and nanoplastics below the lower size limit of conventional microscopy techniques.