Aquatic plastic pollution has become a major environmental concern. In the Great Lakes alone, approximately 22 million pounds of plastic debris enter its waters every year. The degradation of consumer plastics into particulate debris, such as microplastics (smaller than 1 cm by definition) and nanoplastics (smaller than 1 micron by definition) increases their specific surface area, as well as their mobility in the aquatic environment. There are reports that microplastics (MPs) can adsorb and concentrate persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as DDT and heavy metals. As such, MPs act as vectors for micropollutants, and facilitate their transportation in the food chain. The similarity between the chemical and physical properties of anthropogenic MPs with waterborne organic debris and microorganisms makes their rapid and efficient identification a major challenge. Consequently, unlike dissolved contaminants such as organic pollutants and heavy metals, and particulate air pollutants, the rapid and accurate identification and mapping of MPs in aquatic environments remain an unsolved problem.  As such, there is a persistent need for the development of novel methods of identification of MPs.