Synthetic polymers are one of the most significant pollutants in the aquatic environment. Most research focused on small plastic particles, so-called microplastics (particle size, 1-5,000 μm). Compared to macroplastics, the small size complicates their determination in environmental samples and demands for more sophisticated analytical approaches. The detection methods of microplastics reported in the past are highly diverse. This chapter summarizes different strategies for the sampling of water and sediment and sample treatments, including the separation of plastic particles and removal of natural debris that are necessary prior the identification of microplastics. Moreover, the techniques used for the identification of plastics particles are presented in this chapter.With the application of the method described in this chapter, microplastics were detected in freshwater systems, such as rivers and lakes worldwide. The abundance of microplastics reported in the studies varied in more than three orders of magnitude.Furthermore, microplastics are not uniform, as there are many different types of synthetic polymers commercially available. Consequently, a variety of different polymer types is present in the aquatic environment. The knowledge on the type of polymer provides additional information for scientists: the type of polymer dictates its physicochemical properties and the degradation. The environmental degradation of plastics is an important factor for the formation, distribution, and accumulation of microplastics in the aquatic system. Thus, this chapter also summarizes the degradation pathways for synthetic polymers in the environment.

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High resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was successfully applied to elucidate the structure of a polyfluorinated polyether (PFPE)-based formulation. The mass spectrum generated from direct injection into the MS was examined by identifying the different repeating units manually and with the aid of an instrument data processor. Highly accurate mass spectral data enabled the calculation of higher-order mass defects. The different plots of MW and the nth-order mass defects (up to n = 3) could aid in assessing the structure of the different repeating units and estimating their absolute and relative number per molecule. The three major repeating units were -C2H4O-, -C2F4O-, and -CF2O-. Tandem MS was used to identify the end groups that appeared to be phosphates, as well as the possible distribution of the repeating units. Reversed-phase HPLC separated of the polymer molecules on the basis of number of nonpolar repeating units. The elucidated structure resembles the structure in the published manufacturer technical data. This analytical approach to the characterization of a PFPE-based formulation can serve as a guide in analyzing not just other PFPE-based formulations but also other fluorinated and non-fluorinated polymers. The information from MS is essential in studying the physico-chemical properties of PFPEs and can help in assessing the risks they pose to the environment and to human health.Graphical AbstractᅟElectronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13361-015-1269-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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