MagNanoTrap enrichment empowers ultra-sensitive quantification of mixed nanoplastic particles from environmental water samples

MagNanoTrap enrichment empowers ultra-sensitive quantification of mixed nanoplastic particles from environmental water samples | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article MagNanoTrap enrichment empowers ultra-sensitive quantification of mixed nanoplastic particles from environmental water samples Ulrich Schwaneberg, Maochao Mao, Marian Bienstein, Francisca Contreras, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6254645/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Detection and quantification of nanoplastic particles (NPs) in environmental water are important for monitoring NPs’ fate and assessing health impacts, but the lack of sensitive and universal detection systems hinders regulation according to the EU Commission (Allan, J. et al., 2021). The MagNanoTrap termed enrichment platform is based on a bifunctional peptide (LCI DZ-MBP1) combined with Fe3O4 superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPIONs); the bifunctional peptide was designed to decorate SPIONs for NPs capture, with the LCI-peptide binding to SPIONs and the MBP1-peptide acting as a general binder for polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) particles. The MagNanoTrap enrichment platform, with a maximum MagNanoTrap adsorption capacity of 3.95 ± 0.14 g/g for PS-COOH 500 nm NPs, enables in combination with pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) to reliably determine the composition of mixed NPs and quantify NP amounts down to 0.061 µg for PS. The achieved sensitivity ensures that a 1 L water sample is usually sufficient to detect and quantify NPs in environmental water samples, requiring only 16 mg of LCI-DZ-MBP1 coated SPIONs. The high affinity and general applicability of MagNanoTrap against NPs are ensured through high salt ion concentration, which makes hydrophobic interactions the main binding force. Proof of concept for versatile use of the MagNanoTrap enrichment platform was successfully performed by enrichment and quantification of mixed NPs, including PP, PS, PE, PET, poly (methyl methacrylate), polycarbonate, nylon 6, and nylon 66, across seven types of environmental water samples from rivers, lake, sea, and wastewater sources. Biological sciences/Biotechnology/Environmental biotechnology Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Biological sciences/Biotechnology/Nanobiotechnology/Nanoparticles Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementaryinformation.pdf MagneticextractionofPSNPs.mov Magnetic extraction of polystyrene nanoplastics Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6254645","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":483155602,"identity":"c5f033f4-bdda-4148-a14a-6b6d8006e80d","order_by":0,"name":"Ulrich 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