As microplastics degrade into ever-smaller particles, scientists are raising urgent concerns about the potential health impacts of nanoplastics — tiny fragments capable of crossing biological membranes and entering human tissues.

At the BIPM’s Scientific Symposium held during the 150th Anniversary of the Metre Convention, Dr Adrian Pegoraro from the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) presented a poster entitled “Transforming Food and Water Safety with Innovative Nanoscale Plastic Reference Materials.”

In his presentation, Dr Pegoraro highlighted a major challenge in addressing nanoplastic contamination: that there are currently no certified reference materials available that laboratories around the world can use to verify the accuracy of their measurements. This gap prevents reliable comparisons of data and hinders both environmental and health risk assessments.

“Without certified reference materials that everyone agrees on, it’s really difficult to assess exposure levels or compare findings across different labs and countries,” said Dr Pegoraro.

The team is working to create scalable and well-characterized plastic nanoparticles that can serve as a reliable reference for testing and calibration.

This work also supports the BIPM’s broader mission to facilitate comparability in global measurement systems and reflects the strategic vision outlined in the CIPM Strategy 2030+ — particularly in ensuring that measurements support health, environmental protection and food security.

The Poster

The poster was co-authored by Maohui Chen, Sadman Sakib, Zeina Maan, Zygmunt Jakubek and Shan Zou, all affiliated with the NRC’s Nanoscale Measurement Metrology Research Centre.

Listen to a 2-minute audio recording of Dr Pegoraro explaining their poster, here.

Watch Dr Pegoraro’s Presentation