Exploration of microplastic concentration in indoor and outdoor air samples: Morphological, polymeric, and elemental analysis.

Microplastics are ubiquitously pervasive throughout the environment, but unlike aquatic and terrestrial microplastics, airborne microplastics have received less scientific attention. This study is the first of its kind to explicitly examine microplastics in the indoor and outdoor air (PM) samples collected using active air samplers in Islamabad, Pakistan. The suspected synthetic particles were analyzed using ATR-FTIR, μ-Raman and SEM-EDX to categorize them based on their morphological characteristics, polymeric composition, and elemental makeup.