A cost-effective protocol for detecting fluorescent microplastics in arable soils to study redistribution processes

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68407700%3A21110%2F25%3A00383870" target="_blank" >RIV/68407700:21110/25:00383870 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2025.108824" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2025.108824</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2025.108824" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.polymertesting.2025.108824</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

A cost-effective protocol for detecting fluorescent microplastics in arable soils to study redistribution processes

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Understanding microplastics' (MPs) transport from soils to aquatic ecosystems is challenging due to labor-intensive detection methods, especially in large-scale plot experiments analyzing surface runoff and soil erosion. To address this, we used fluorescent MPs as tracers and developed a cost-effective protocol to detect them in dry soils and eroded sediments. We analyzed spherical polyethylene (PE: 125-150 mu m; 425-500 mu m) and irregular polylactic acid (PLA: 125-150 mu m; 250-300 mu m). Sample assays were prepared primarily based on dry and wet sieving. Subsequent darkroom photography under 365 nm illumination, and thresholding and segmentation-based image analysis were done. The developed protocol demonstrates high reliability, precision, and F-scores of 88.7 % +/- 2.9 %, 85.2 % +/- 3.1 %, and 86.9 % +/- 2.8 %. PE exhibited slightly higher recovery rates (85 % +/- 5 %) than PLA (79 % +/- 8 %). Particle size influenced recovery, with larger MPs achieving significantly higher recovery. Smaller particles showed slightly lower recovery under dry soil conditions, but their recovery improved under sediment conditions facilitated by wet sieving and ultrasonication. All fluorescent MPs retained >95 % detectability after three months of storage, highlighting marker temporal stability. Compared to existing methods, this protocol eliminates complex digestion steps, reduces costs, and ensures minimal contamination, providing a robust framework for MP transport studies. It offers potential for enhancement through advanced imaging and machine learning, enabling more efficient and accessible detection in environmental research.

Název v anglickém jazyce

A cost-effective protocol for detecting fluorescent microplastics in arable soils to study redistribution processes

Popis výsledku anglicky

Understanding microplastics' (MPs) transport from soils to aquatic ecosystems is challenging due to labor-intensive detection methods, especially in large-scale plot experiments analyzing surface runoff and soil erosion. To address this, we used fluorescent MPs as tracers and developed a cost-effective protocol to detect them in dry soils and eroded sediments. We analyzed spherical polyethylene (PE: 125-150 mu m; 425-500 mu m) and irregular polylactic acid (PLA: 125-150 mu m; 250-300 mu m). Sample assays were prepared primarily based on dry and wet sieving. Subsequent darkroom photography under 365 nm illumination, and thresholding and segmentation-based image analysis were done. The developed protocol demonstrates high reliability, precision, and F-scores of 88.7 % +/- 2.9 %, 85.2 % +/- 3.1 %, and 86.9 % +/- 2.8 %. PE exhibited slightly higher recovery rates (85 % +/- 5 %) than PLA (79 % +/- 8 %). Particle size influenced recovery, with larger MPs achieving significantly higher recovery. Smaller particles showed slightly lower recovery under dry soil conditions, but their recovery improved under sediment conditions facilitated by wet sieving and ultrasonication. All fluorescent MPs retained >95 % detectability after three months of storage, highlighting marker temporal stability. Compared to existing methods, this protocol eliminates complex digestion steps, reduces costs, and ensures minimal contamination, providing a robust framework for MP transport studies. It offers potential for enhancement through advanced imaging and machine learning, enabling more efficient and accessible detection in environmental research.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

40104 - Soil science

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

R - Projekt Ramcoveho programu EK

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Polymer Testing

ISSN

0142-9418

e-ISSN

1873-2348

Svazek periodika

147

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

June

Stát vydavatele periodika

NL - Nizozemsko

Počet stran výsledku

10

Strana od-do

—

Kód UT WoS článku

001486799400001

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-105003902201