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Detect nanoplastics: How to use artificial intelligence for identification

Detect nanoplastics
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Innovative technology to detect nanoplastics with artificial intelligence

Finding the proverbial needle in the stall is no longer impossible. Indeed, two milliseconds are enough. This is promised by a research team led by McGill University in Montreal, which has developed the first technology capable of detecting nanoplastics with artificial intelligence. With the invention of the Canadian Ateneo, it is now possible to detect it in real time and on-site. Microplastics can be distinguished from all other particles in water.

Microplastics range from 1 micrometer to 5 millimeters. They’re practically as big as a grain of rice. Nanoplastics are much smaller because a nanometer is equal to 0.000001 millimetres. It is almost invisible to the human eye. And yet they’re practically everywhere, in our water and our food. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), every day, approximately 2,000 trash trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes. Understanding the impact of nanoplastics on ecosystems is difficult because of the limitations of current detection methods.

McGill’s innovation based on artificial intelligence allows real-time analysis of plastic pollution. This technology, a nano-digital holographic microscope assisted by artificial intelligence, has attracted attention. The researchers say the technique can automatically detect and differentiate nanoplastics and microplastics, even when they are covered with other particles.

It thus offers a practical tool to identify and deal more effectively with the “hot spots” of pollution. Preliminary results from Lake Ontario and the San Lorenzo River indicate that it can locate micro and nanoplastics in particles carried by water. Developed in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada, this technology is set to give a fundamental shift in environmental monitoring with potential global applications.

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