Oak Ridge Institute of Science Education, c/o U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ORD/CEMM Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division, Narragansett, RI, USA.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ORD/CEMM Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division, Narragansett, RI, USA.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Jul;192:115073. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115073. Epub 2023 May 26.
A common method for characterizing microplastics (MPs) involves capturing the plastic particles on a filter after extraction and isolation from the sediment particles. Microplastics captured on the filter are then scanned with Raman spectroscopy for polymer identification and quantification. However, scanning the whole filter manually using Raman analysis is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. This study investigates a subsampling method for Raman spectroscopic analysis of microplastics (operationally defined here as 45-1000 μm in size) present in sediments and isolated onto laboratory filters. The method was evaluated using spiked MPs in deionized water and two environmentally contaminated sediments. Based on statistical analyses, we found quantification of a sub-fraction of 12.5 % of the filter in a wedge form was optimal, efficient, and accurate for estimating the entire filter count. The extrapolation method was then used to assess microplastic contamination in sediments from different marine regions of the United States.
一种常见的用于表征微塑料（MPs）的方法包括从沉积物颗粒中提取和分离后，在过滤器上捕获塑料颗粒。然后使用拉曼光谱法对过滤器上捕获的微塑料进行扫描，以进行聚合物的识别和定量。然而，使用拉曼分析手动扫描整个过滤器是一项劳动密集型和耗时的过程。本研究调查了一种用于对沉积物中存在的微塑料（这里定义为尺寸为 45-1000μm 的微塑料）进行拉曼光谱分析的抽样方法，这些微塑料被分离到实验室过滤器上。该方法使用去离子水中的添加 MPs 和两种受环境污染的沉积物进行了评估。基于统计分析，我们发现以楔形形式对过滤器的 12.5%的亚部分进行定量是最佳、高效和准确的，可用于估计整个过滤器的计数。然后使用外推法评估来自美国不同海洋区域的沉积物中的微塑料污染。
