Detection of Microplastics in Marine Sediments

What is it about?

Although micro-Fourier-transform infrared (micro-FT-IR) spectroscopy represents an ideal method for detecting microplastics in sediments, this technique lacks a standardized operating protocol. Herein, an optimized method for the micro-FT-IR analysis of microplastics in vacuum-filtered sediment retentates is presented. Additionally, this paper provides the first evidence for the ability of chemical mapping to successfully detect microplastics without their visual selection for characterization.

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Why is it important?

This work provides a foundation for research into the development of improved FT-IR-based methods for the detection of microplastics in complex matrices. Following the publication of this paper, focal plane array (FPA)-based methods for the high-throughput imaging of microplastics have been developed. These methods significantly improve our ability to detect microplastic particles within environmental samples.