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Ultrapure detergent (Extran®) improves microplastics analysis in surface water samples with planktonic fragments
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Researchers evaluated the use of ultrapure Extran detergent to improve microplastic analysis in surface water samples containing planktonic fragments, addressing contamination and interference challenges during sample processing. The method aimed to reduce false positives by more effectively separating biological material from genuine microplastic particles during identification.
Microplastics (MPs) are emerging anthropogenic pollutants of significant environmental concern. Due to their small size and high mobility, investigating these particles is a laborious and delicate task. Studies prioritizing methodological standardization and quality control have sparked a growing interest in the scientific community regarding the development of methods that minimize potential errors in the analysis and identification of MPs. One of the main challenges in investigating MPs in environmental matrices is the presence of other organic particles, which often hinder the analyst's visualization or are misidentified as MPs. The aim of this work was to reduce visual interferences caused by fragments of planktonic organisms with chitinous exoskeletons in marine water samples. The samples were collected using a 300 µm mesh plankton net along the coast of the State of São Paulo (Brazil). In the laboratory, they underwent organic matter digestion with H2O2 (35 Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/557627/document
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Ultrapure detergent (Extran®) improves microplastics analysis in surface water samples with planktonic fragments
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Researchers evaluated the use of ultrapure Extran detergent as a treatment step to reduce visual interference from chitinous planktonic fragments in microplastics analysis of marine surface water samples collected via 300 µm plankton net off the coast of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Results demonstrated that the detergent treatment improved the clarity of microplastic identification by reducing misidentification of biological particles.
Use of concentrated detergent to optimize the analysis of microplastics in water samples with chitinous zooplankton fragments
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Researchers developed a concentrated detergent treatment method to reduce chitinous zooplankton fragment interference in the analysis of microplastics from marine water samples, collecting samples from field sites to validate the protocol against conventional approaches. The method successfully reduced false-positive identification of zooplankton appendages as microplastics, improving the accuracy and quality control of marine microplastic monitoring in biologically rich water samples.
Use of concentrated detergent to optimize the analysis of microplastics in water samples with chitinous zooplankton fragments
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Researchers developed a protocol using a common laboratory detergent to dissolve chitinous material from zooplankton shells, which can look nearly identical to microplastic fibers under a microscope and complicate accurate counting. Treating marine water samples at 50°C for two hours removed over 80% of chitin fragments without affecting actual microplastic particles. This methodological advance improves the accuracy and comparability of microplastic measurements in marine samples, which is important for building reliable global datasets.
Enzymatic Purification of Microplastics in Environmental Samples
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Researchers developed an enzymatic purification protocol to remove biological material from environmental samples before microplastic analysis, finding it improved the accuracy and reliability of microplastic identification and quantification.
Miscounting microplastics as a result of matrix molecules: optimizing identification and quantification of microplastics in natural freshwater systems
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Researchers investigated how matrix molecules in environmental samples can cause miscounting of microplastics during identification, optimising analytical protocols to distinguish true microplastic particles from interfering compounds and improve the accuracy of microplastic quantification in environmental chemistry studies.
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