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Novel method for the characterization and quantification of rubber particles in air samples and human blood
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Researchers developed a novel method to characterize and quantify rubber particles from tire and road wear in air samples, targeting natural rubber and styrene butadiene rubber. The method addresses a key gap in monitoring one of the largest sources of environmental microplastics.
Recent investigations have suggested that tire and road wear particles (TRWPs) are the most significant contributor to the overall emission of microplastics into the air. The main polymers within those particles are natural rubber (NR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), both vulcanized with sulfuric compounds like benzothiazole. Within the POLYRISK project, two studies were carried out to assess human exposure and polymer intake to understand the exposure of TRWPs indoors and outdoors. To support these studies, an analytical method has been developed to characterize and measure TRWPs in two distinct matrices: air samples and human blood. Pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) was employed for the analyses. Quality assurance and quality control parameters were evaluated to ensure that obtained results are robust and reliable. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were sufficiently low for analyzing the majority of collected air samples (240 m3 per filter)(d-limonene: LOD=198 ng/half filter, LOQ=654 ng/half filter; SBR trimer: LOD=142 ng/ half filter, LOQ=468 ng/ half filter). Outdoor samples (n=8) from three locations varying in traffic intensity showed the highest concentration of 13.39 ng/m3 of NR and 16.55 ng/m3 of SBR Moreover, benzothiazole was detected in all the air samples above the LOQ as a confirmation of TRWP presence. Regarding the indoor filters, all levels were ¡ LOQ. However, the sampled volume was only half of that in the outdoor study. For the analysis of whole blood, the method validation results showed higher LODs and LOQs compared to the air samples experiment, due to matrix interferences. Benzothiazole was consistently detected in all spiked blood samples (n=8), showing a 67 Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/559472/document
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