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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Detection Methods Marine & Wildlife Sign in to save

A critical assessment of visual identification of marine microplastic using Raman spectroscopy for analysis improvement

Marine Pollution Bulletin 2015 755 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Robin Lenz, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Kristina Enders, Robin Lenz, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Robin Lenz, Kristina Enders, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Robin Lenz, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Kristina Enders, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Robin Lenz, Robin Lenz, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Colin A. Stedmon, Colin A. Stedmon, Torkel Gissel Nielsen David M. A. Mackenzie, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Colin A. Stedmon, Colin A. Stedmon, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Kristina Enders, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Kristina Enders, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Robin Lenz, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Robin Lenz, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Colin A. Stedmon, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Robin Lenz, Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen Torkel Gissel Nielsen

Summary

Researchers critically evaluated the accuracy of visual identification versus Raman spectroscopy for identifying marine microplastics, finding that visual identification alone has significant error rates and that spectroscopic confirmation is necessary for reliable results.

Polymers

Identification and characterisation of microplastic (MP) is a necessary step to evaluate their concentrations, chemical composition and interactions with biota. MP ≥10μm diameter filtered from below the sea surface in the European and subtropical North Atlantic were simultaneously identified by visual microscopy and Raman micro-spectroscopy. Visually identified particles below 100μm had a significantly lower percentage confirmed by Raman than larger ones indicating that visual identification alone is inappropriate for studies on small microplastics. Sixty-eight percent of visually counted MP (n=1279) were spectroscopically confirmed being plastic. The percentage varied with type, colour and size of the MP. Fibres had a higher success rate (75%) than particles (64%). We tested Raman micro-spectroscopy applicability for MP identification with respect to varying chemical composition (additives), degradation state and organic matter coating. Partially UV-degraded post-consumer plastics provided identifiable Raman spectra for polymers most common among marine MP, i.e. polyethylene and polypropylene.

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