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Novel Single-Particle Analytical Technique for Inhalable Airborne Microplastic Particles by the Combined Use of Fluorescence Microscopy, Raman Microspectrometry, and SEM/EDX
Summary
Researchers developed a novel single-particle analytical method combining fluorescence microscopy, Raman microspectrometry, and SEM/EDX to characterize inhalable airborne microplastics smaller than 10 µm in ambient PM10 aerosols, addressing a critical gap in understanding respiratory exposure to plastic particles.
This study presents\na novel and efficient method for\nanalyzing inhalable airborne microplastics (AMPs) in ambient PM10 aerosols. Although many studies have been conducted on MPs\nin a variety of environments, the physicochemical characteristics\nof AMPs of inhalable size (<10 μm) in ambient PM10 are poorly understood because of the lack of suitable analytical\nmethods. The method employed in this study combines fluorescence microscopy,\nRaman microspectrometry (RMS), and scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive\nX-ray spectrometry (SEM/EDX) for an efficient and reliable investigation\nof inhalable AMPs, which constitute a small portion of ambient PM10 aerosol particles. Fluorescence microscopy and staining\nare used to select particles with high MP potential from ambient urban\nPM10 aerosols. The combination of RMS and SEM/EDX then\nallows for a detailed characterization of these particles on a single-particle\nbasis. The results of the study show that ∼0.008% of the particles\ncollected using a PM10 sampler had high MP potential, corresponding\nto ∼800 particles/m3. Among the stained particles\nof <10 μm, 27% were determined to be plastic, while the remaining\n73% were found to be from tire/road wear. The number of inhalable\nAMPs was estimated to be 192 (±127) particles/m3.\nThis study provides an important insight into the characteristics\nof inhalable AMPs in ambient PM10 aerosols that are particularly\ncritical in respect of human health and climate change. The authors\nhighlight that the use of a single fluorescence staining method can\noverestimate the number of inhalable AMPs in ambient air by including\ntire/road wear particles. To the best of their knowledge, this is\nthe first study to demonstrate the morphological and spectroscopic\ncharacteristics of the same individual inhalable AMPs.
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