Niemann Lab

Research focus

ERC Advanced Grant · 2024

The role of microbes in the fate of nanoplastics in the marine realm

Nanoplastics (plastic litter fragments <1µm) were only recently discovered in the marine realm. Due to their colloidal nature, nanoplastics may be dispersed throughout the ocean, potentially affecting all marine life. However, their minuscule size has made it virtually impossible to measure their distribution or determine if microbes can degrade nanoplastics, thus influencing their fate in the ocean. Innovative approaches developed by my team have now made this possible for the first time. Using an ultrasensitive mass spectrometry method, our preliminary results revealed substantial concentrations of various nanoplastic types in both surface waters and the deep sea, suggesting that…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.