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Evaluation of Representative Dairy and Plant-Based Beverage Matrices for Rapid Smartphone-Based Microplastic Detection Using a Plant-Derived Optical Assay
Summary
Scientists tested a smartphone-based tool that can quickly spot tiny plastic particles in drinks like milk, infant formula, and oat milk—everyday beverages that are notoriously hard to analyze because of their fats and proteins. The tool successfully detected added microplastics in all the drinks tested, suggesting this affordable, easy-to-use method could one day help consumers or manufacturers check common beverages for plastic contamination without needing expensive lab equipment. This is early proof-of-concept work, so more testing is needed before it becomes a practical household tool.
Dairy and plant-based beverages represent chemically complex matrices containing proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and other emulsified or dissolved constituents that may interfere with optical analytical methods. This technical note evaluates proof-of-concept compatibility of a rapid smartphone-based microplastic detection platform across representative matrices, including filtered water, infant formula, skim milk, whole milk, and oat-based plant milk. Representative samples were evaluated before and after addition of known microplastic particles following adaptive matrix preparation. Qualitative optical differences between control and microplastic-spiked samples remained observable in all tested matrices, supporting the feasibility of extending rapid optical microplastic detection to dairy and plant-based beverage systems. These observations demonstrate assay compatibility across protein- and lipid-rich matrices and complement previous environmental and biological matrix studies. Liquid Representative Observation Filtered water Clear differentiation between control and microplastic-spiked samples Infant formula Differentiation between control and microplastic-spiked samples maintained in this reconstituted powder-based matrix Skim milk Differentiation between control and microplastic-spiked samples maintained in this low-fat dairy matrix Whole milk Differentiation between control and microplastic-spiked samples maintained in this higher-fat dairy matrix (requiring additional dilution compared to skim milk) Oat-based plant “milk” Differentiation between control and microplastic-spiked samples maintained in this plant-based emulsion matrix Non-dairy coffee creamer Differentiation between control and microplastic-spiked samples maintained in this non-dairy emulsion matrix.