Papers

20 results
|
Article Tier 2

Comparison of microplastic isolation and extraction procedures from marine sediments

Researchers compared five methods for extracting microplastics (40-710 μm) from marine sediments by spiking known MP quantities into sediment matrices and measuring percent recovery across extraction approaches. Results showed that sediment matrix composition, MP properties including size and polymer type, and extraction method all significantly influenced recovery efficiency, underscoring the need for standardized extraction protocols to enable cross-study comparisons.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic extraction from sediments established? – A critical evaluation from a trace recovery experiment with a custom-made density separator

Scientists evaluated the accuracy of a custom density separator for extracting small microplastic particles from sediment, finding variable recovery rates across different polymer types. Standardized and validated extraction methods are essential for accurate measurements of microplastic contamination in sediment environments.

2021 Analytical Methods 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Extraction of microplastic from marine sediments: A comparison between pressurized solvent extraction and density separation

Researchers compared pressurized solvent extraction against density separation for extracting microplastics from marine sediments, evaluating the efficiency, accuracy, and practicality of each method to help establish consensus analytical protocols for deep-sea and coastal sediment samples.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative analysis of microplastics detection methods applied to marine sediments: A case study in the Bay of Marseille

This study compared multiple analytical methods for detecting and quantifying microplastics in marine sediment samples, evaluating extraction efficiency, polymer identification accuracy, and practical considerations for routine environmental monitoring.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 9 citations
Article Tier 2

A new analytical approach for monitoring microplastics in marine sediments

Researchers developed a new analytical approach for monitoring microplastics specifically in marine sediments, improving extraction and identification steps to enable more reliable and standardized environmental monitoring of seafloor contamination.

2013 Environmental Pollution 1349 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic abundance and characteristics in French Atlantic coastal sediments using a new extraction method

Researchers developed a new extraction method for microplastics from coastal Atlantic sediments in France and applied it to characterize microplastic abundance and composition, finding widespread contamination and demonstrating the method's improved efficiency for recovering particles from sediment matrices.

2018 Environmental Pollution 127 citations
Article Tier 2

A novel method enabling the accurate quantification of microplastics in the water column of deep ocean

A new sampling method was developed to accurately measure microplastics in the deep ocean water column, addressing gaps left by traditional net trawls that miss very small particles. Reliable deep-sea sampling is critical since the deep ocean is thought to be a major sink for global microplastic pollution.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in marine environment: reworking and optimisation of two analytical protocols for the extraction of microplastics from sediments and oysters

Researchers improved existing protocols for extracting microplastics from both marine sediments and oysters, making the NOAA protocol more versatile and extending it to PET extraction. Validated extraction methods are essential for producing consistent, comparable data on microplastic contamination in seafood.

2020 MethodsX 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Extraction of microplastics from sediment matrices: Experimental comparative analysis

Extraction efficiencies of four methods for separating microplastics from sediment matrices were experimentally compared using spiked samples, finding that density separation with saturated NaCl was adequate for most polymer types but underperformed for high-density polymers, and that no single method achieved complete recovery across all particle sizes and shapes.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic identification and quantification from organic rich sediments: A validated laboratory protocol

Researchers developed and validated a laboratory protocol for extracting, quantifying, and identifying microplastics from organic-rich sediments with fine grain sizes. The study addressed the challenge of analyzing microplastics in contamination hotspots like harbors and estuaries, where high organic content makes extraction difficult, and provided a cost-effective integrated method for more reliable environmental monitoring.

2020 Environmental Pollution 136 citations
Article Tier 2

Separation of microplastics from deep-sea sediment using an affordable, simple to use, and easily accessible density separation device

Researchers developed an affordable, simple, and accessible density separation device for extracting microplastics from deep-sea sediment, addressing the lack of accuracy and reproducibility in existing extraction methods. The study included spike-recovery experiments as positive controls to validate extraction performance across different sediment matrices.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in deep-sea sediments

Researchers analyzed deep-sea sediment cores and found microplastics present at depth, providing early evidence that deep-sea sediments globally accumulate microplastic pollution far from coastlines and at the seafloor.

2013 Environmental Pollution 1521 citations
Article Tier 2

The Hidden Microplastics: New Insights and Figures from the Thorough Separation and Characterization of Microplastics and of Their Degradation Byproducts in Coastal Sediments

Researchers applied thorough extraction and characterization methods to coastal sediment samples and found substantially more microplastics — including degradation byproducts not previously reported — than standard methods typically detect. The results suggest that conventional extraction protocols underestimate true microplastic contamination levels in marine sediments.

2018 Environmental Science & Technology 172 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of microplastics in deep-sea sediments and its influencing factors: Evidence from the Eastern Indian Ocean

Surface sediments from 26 sites in the deep basin of the Eastern Indian Ocean were analyzed for microplastics, finding concentrations ranging widely and influenced by water depth, distance from land, and ocean current patterns. The study extends deep-sea microplastic monitoring to the Indian Ocean and identifies oceanographic transport as a key control on plastic distribution.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 70 citations
Article Tier 2

A new analytical technique for the extraction and quantification of microplastics in marine sediments focused on easy implementation and repeatability

This paper describes a new analytical method for extracting and quantifying microplastics from sediment using common laboratory equipment and salt solutions, making microplastic analysis more accessible to laboratories without specialized instruments. Standardized, low-cost methods are essential for expanding the geographic and temporal coverage of microplastic monitoring.

2017 Analytical Methods 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Separation of microplastics from deep-sea sediment using an affordable, simple to use, and easily accessible density separation device

This study developed an affordable, simple technique for separating microplastics from deep-sea sediment samples, using density separation and chemical digestion to achieve reliable extraction of plastic particles from these challenging matrices.

2024 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Improved separation and quantification method for microplastic analysis in sediment: A fine-grained matrix from Arctic Greenland

Researchers developed an improved method for extracting microplastics from fine-grained Arctic sediments that reduces particle loss by cutting out intermediate processing steps, achieving over 90% recovery for particles larger than 100 micrometers. This is important because smaller microplastic particles are particularly easy to lose during analysis, and better methods mean we get more accurate data on how much plastic pollution is actually present in remote environments like Greenland.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Isolation and Extraction of Microplastics from Environmental Samples: An Evaluation of Practical Approaches and Recommendations for Further Harmonization

Isolation and extraction methods for microplastics from environmental samples were evaluated and compared, tracing the evolution of methodologies from early studies in the 1970s to current approaches. The review identified persistent inconsistencies in extraction efficiency across methods as a major obstacle to comparing microplastic contamination data across studies and locations.

2020 Applied Spectroscopy 200 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparision protocols for extraction of microplastics in water samples

Researchers compared four different extraction protocols for isolating microplastics from water samples and found significant differences in efficiency and accuracy across methods. Standardized extraction protocols are critical for producing comparable microplastic abundance data across studies. Without consistent methodology, it is difficult to build a reliable global picture of microplastic contamination levels in water.

2023 Vietnam Journal of Marine Science and Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Optimization of an Analytical Protocol for the Extraction of Microplastics from Seafood Samples with Different Levels of Fat

Researchers optimized an analytical protocol for extracting microplastics from seafood samples with varying fat content, addressing a key methodological challenge in accurately quantifying microplastic contamination in marine food sources given the ubiquitous presence of plastic particles smaller than 5 mm in marine environments.

2022 2 citations