A simple method for detecting and quantifying microplastics utilizing fluorescent dyes - Safranine T, fluorescein isophosphate, Nile red based on thermal expansion and contraction property

Lulu Lv; Junhao Qu; Zihua Yu; Daihuan Chen; Chunxia Zhou; Pengzhi Hong; Shengli Sun; Chengyong Li

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113283

A simple method for detecting and quantifying microplastics utilizing fluorescent dyes - Safranine T, fluorescein isophosphate, Nile red based on thermal expansion and contraction property

Environ Pollut. 2019 Dec;255(Pt 2):113283. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113283. Epub 2019 Sep 26.

Authors

Lulu Lv¹, Junhao Qu², Zihua Yu², Daihuan Chen², Chunxia Zhou³, Pengzhi Hong³, Shengli Sun⁴, Chengyong Li⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China; Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen 518108, China.
² College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China.
³ Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen 518108, China; College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China; Guangdong Modern Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Center, Zhanjiang 524088, China.
⁴ School of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China.
⁵ School of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China; Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen 518108, China; Guangdong Modern Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Center, Zhanjiang 524088, China. Electronic address: cyli@gdou.edu.cn.

PMID: 31580990
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113283

Abstract

Microplastics (particle size <5 mm) are an emerging contaminant for aquatic environmental, which have attracted increasing attention in worldwide range. In this study, an improved fluorescent staining method for detection and quantification of microplastics was developed based on thermal expansion and contraction. This method is effective in detection of polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate plastic particles. In order to avoid error statistics caused by pretreatment, various characterizations of microplastics were measured after heated, such as microstructure, compositions and thermostability. The results showed that there was no significant damage to microplastics even under heating condition at 75 °C for 30 min, and the stained microplastics had strong stability for up to two months. Moreover, this method has been successfully applied to the quantification of microplastics in biological samples and result showed there were about 54 particles g^-1 (dry weight) microplastics in the Sipunculus nudus. This new method provides a reliable method for quantitative analysis of microplastics in environment and biological tissue.

Keywords: Identification; Microplastics; Quantification; Staining; Thermal expansion and contraction.

MeSH terms

Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Fluorescein / chemistry
Fluorescent Dyes / analysis
Microplastics / analysis*
Oxazines
Phenazines / chemistry
Plastics / analysis
Polyethylene / analysis
Polystyrenes / analysis
Polyvinyl Chloride
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Fluorescent Dyes
Microplastics
Oxazines
Phenazines
Plastics
Polystyrenes
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Polyvinyl Chloride
Polyethylene
nile red
Fluorescein
safranine T