Research published in Analytical Methods shows that lab gloves can deposit stearate salts onto samples during dry contact, which are then misidentified as polyethylene microplastics by µ-FTIR and µ-Raman spectroscopy. This adds to growing concerns about false positives in micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) detection, compounding existing challenges with methods like Py-GC-MS. The finding highlights how difficult it remains to reliably measure MNP contamination levels, making accurate hazard assessments elusive until detection protocols improve.
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