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Visualizing undyed microplastic particles and fibers with plasmon-enhanced fluorescence
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Fibre- and Polymer Technology, Polymeric Materials. RISE Res Inst Sweden, Dept Polymers & Composites, SE-50115 Borås, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7165-793x
Tech Univ Denmark, Ctr Intelligent Drug Delivery & Sensing Using Mic, Dept Hlth Technol, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark..
Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ, Dept Micro Nano Elect, Natl Key Lab Sci & Technol Micro Nano Fabricat, Shanghai 200240, Peoples R China..
RISE Res Inst Sweden, Dept Polymers & Composites, SE-50115 Borås, Sweden..
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2022 (English)In: Chemical Engineering Journal, ISSN 1385-8947, E-ISSN 1873-3212, Vol. 442, article id 136117Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Despite widespread awareness that enormous consumption of plastics is not sustainable, the global production and use of plastics continue to grow. This generates vast amounts of plastic waste and micmplastics, ending up e. g., in the marine environment. There are serious challenges in detecting and measuring microplastics, especially in highly diluted natural samples. Here, a new alternative microplastic detection method based on plasmon-enhanced fluorescence (PEF) was developed and tested using fluorescence microscopy. In particular, gold nanopillar-based substrates, displaying (i) high electromagnetic field enhancement, and (ii) surface super-hydrophobicity and high adhesion properties, were utilized to enhance the fluorescence emission signal from microplastics in water samples. The fluorescence microscopy imaging revealed remarkable fluorescence enhancement by the PEF substrates on the microplastic particles and fibers with different sizes of both conventional, low-density polyethylene, and biodegradable poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate). The limit of detection and quantification by this method was estimated to be as low as 0.35 and 1.2 femtograms, respectively. The observed fluorescence enhancement of the gold nanopillar substrates for the microplastics was ca. 70 times greater than the case of having the microplastics on a glass substrate. Additionally, 3D FEM simulations were performed to further investigate the system's electromagnetic field distribution near the nanostructures. This new method makes undyed microplastics visible in fluorescence microscopy, even particles and fibres too small to be imaged with conventional light microscopy. This can be a great tool for micmplastic research, helping us to detect, study, understand microplastic dynamics in water based systems.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2022. Vol. 442, article id 136117
Keywords [en]
Microplastics, Analysis methods, Water samples, Plasmonic nanostructures, Enhanced fluorescence
National Category
Chemical Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-313775DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2022.136117ISI: 000799793000002Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85127797534OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-313775DiVA, id: diva2:1667530
Note

QC 20220610

Available from: 2022-06-10 Created: 2022-06-10 Last updated: 2022-06-25Bibliographically approved

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Wei, Xin-FengHedenqvist, Mikael S.

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