Harmonized Analysis of Microplastics by FTIR Spectroscopy and Imaging

The ubiquitous presence of small plastic particles and fibers (<5 mm) with in the aquatic environment is of growing concern for sciences and societies. Nowadays these types of litter have already been found in the remotes areas of the world including the Arctic and Antarctic regions. To determine the levels of contamination the analysis of samples by FTIR imaging provides a rapid identification via the automated analysis of complete filters. By using special designed databases, a harmonized analysis of MP contaminations in environmental compartments can be achieved. This harmonized approach was already successfully applied in studies on (deep) sea sediments, Arctic Sea Ice, melted Snow, treated waste water and surface waters in general and allowed a maximum of comparability of the results. In addition, current developments do not only allow the characterization and quantification of microplastic particles but also the identification of microfibers within one measurement. Further, all methods are available via the manufacturer independent software siMPle via the website www.simple-plastics.eu. With these method and tools, the necessary harmonization of microplastic research was further improved which is paving the pathway to the implementation of standardized operating protocols (SOP) in the future.