In fifteen words or less, explain the significance of this contribution (Novel Aspect).: This work presents a novel imaging approach for detecting nanoplastics in biological samples.
Abstract Text: Plastic pollution and microplastic contamination are of growing concerns due to their potential human health risks. However, studying their presence and behavior in biological systems remains analytically challenging, primarily due to their small size and carbon-based composition, which limits their direct detection. To overcome this, metal tags can be used as proxies for microplastic tracking. This work explores the feasibility of using Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-TOFMS) to detect, localize and visualize metal-doped nanoplastics in complex biological matrices. We present a proof-of-principle workflow for high resolution imaging, applied to both single-cell preparations and tissue sections. Challenges related to sensitivity and sample preparation are also discussed. Our findings demonstrate the potential of metal-doping strategies combined with LA-ICP-TOFMS for in situ tracking of nanoplastics and lay the groundwork for future improvements in biological analysis and risk assessment.
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