Microplastic particle identification and quantification

Knowledge graph centered on Microplastic particle identification and quantification with 17 nodes and 32 connections. Top connected: Plastic rain in protected areas of the United Stat, aquatic biota, aquatic organisms, dust deposition, moisture transport.

Method synopsis

Visual counting and sizing of microplastic particles followed by FTIR spectroscopic confirmation of polymer composition.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 1 paper using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Plastic rain in protected areas of the United States (2020), Science. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Visual particle counting and sizing
   Conducted visual count estimates of plastic particles and fibers in samples. Measured particle sizes between 4 and 188 μm, with fiber sizes between 20 μm and >3 mm, with average widths and depths of 18 and 6 μm respectively.
   Quantities: Particles sized from 4-188 μm, fibers 20 μm to >3 mmDuration: Not specified per sampleConditions: Laboratory conditions
   Equipment: microscopy equipment for visual counting
2. Spectroscopic polymer identification
   Used Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to identify polymer compositions of plastic particles. Applied reflectance mapping technique on 32 subsamples to distinguish synthetic from natural particles.
   Quantities: 32 subsamples analyzed for detailed polymer identification, 2.5 to 5% of particles identified as synthetic polymersDuration: Not specifiedConditions: Laboratory analytical conditions
   Equipment: Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, reflectance mapping equipment

Typical Equipment

• microscopy equipment for visual counting
• Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy
• reflectance mapping equipment

Output Measurements

• particle counts
• particle sizes
• polymer composition
• fiber vs particle classification

Papers Using This Protocol (1)

Species Studied With This Protocol