The recent discovery of nanoplastics in most ecosystems is a major, yet poorly known health issue. Here, we review nanoplastics with focus on their presence in the environment, their methods of detection, and their impact on the nitrogen cycle. Nanoplastics are widely distributed in ecosystems; however, their real concentrations are not known due to the limitation of actual detection methods. Detection methods include techniques based on mass spectrometry, optical instruments, and total organic carbon. Total organic carbon-based methods involve first membrane filtration and oxidation as pretreatment, then the measurement of total organic carbon as the total concentration of nanoplastics. Total organic carbon-based methods are easy and cost-effective, compared with other methods. Nanoplastics negatively impact ecosystems and nitrogen removal. Nanoplastics can adsorb on microbial cell membranes then disrupt the membrane integrity. Nanoplastics can also induce oxidative stress. Nitrogen cycling is substantially inhibited by nanoplastics during laboratory tests.

最近在大多数生态系统中发现的纳米塑料是一个重大但鲜为人知的健康问题。在这里，我们回顾纳米塑料，重点关注它们在环境中的存在、检测方法以及它们对氮循环的影响。纳米塑料广泛分布于生态系统中；然而，由于实际检测方法的限制，它们的真实浓度尚不清楚。检测方法包括基于质谱、光学仪器和总有机碳的技术。基于总有机碳的方法首先涉及膜过滤和氧化作为预处理，然后测量总有机碳作为纳米塑料的总浓度。与其他方法相比，基于总有机碳的方法简单且具有成本效益。纳米塑料对生态系统和氮去除产生负面影响。纳米塑料可以吸附在微生物细胞膜上，然后破坏膜的完整性。纳米塑料也会诱发氧化应激。在实验室测试中，纳米塑料显着抑制氮循环。