Boing Boing

Boing Boing

Lab gloves shed particles that fool microplastic detectors, inflating counts by 20x

Mark Frauenfelder
Apr 01, 2026
∙ Paid

Nitrile gloves (PhotobyTawat/shutterstock.com)

Standard nitrile and latex lab gloves shed hydrocarbons called stearates — particles added by manufacturers to keep gloves from sticking to molds — that look nearly identical to polyethylene microplastics under electron microscopes and fool spectroscopy equipment too, according to Nautilus. University of Mic…

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Boing Boing.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Happy Mutants LLC · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture