Young Kyoung Song, Sang Hee Hong, Mi Jang, Gi Myung Han, Manviri Rani,
Jongmyoung Lee, Won Joon Shim, A comparison of microscopic and
spectroscopic identification methods for analysis of microplastics in
environmental samples, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Available online 11
February 2015, ISSN 0025-326X,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.01.015.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15000314)
Abstract: The analysis of microplastics in various environmental samples
requires the identification of microplastics from natural materials. The
identification technique lacks a standardized protocol. Herein,
stereomicroscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FT-IR)
identification methods for microplastics (<1 mm) were compared using the same samples from the sea surface microlayer (SML) and beach sand. Fragmented microplastics were significantly (p < 0.05) underestimated and fiber was significantly overestimated using the stereomicroscope both in the SML and beach samples. The total abundance by FT-IR was higher than by microscope both in the SML and beach samples, but they were not significantly (p > 0.05) different. Depending on the number of
samples and the microplastic size range of interest, the appropriate
identification method should be determined; selecting a suitable
identification method for microplastics is crucial for evaluating
microplastic pollution.
Keywords: Microplastics; Identification; Stereomicroscope; FT-IR microscope