Abstract
Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) pose a significant threat to marine and human life due to their immense toxicity. To protect these ecosystems, the development of reliable technologies for MNP detection, characterisation, and removal is vital. While FTIR and Raman spectroscopy are established methods for MNP analysis, fluorescence (FL) spectroscopy has recently emerged as a promising alternative. However, most prior research relies on FL emission probing with a single excitation wavelength for MNP detection. In this study, we introduce a two-dimensional (2D) fluorescence excitation–emission (FLE) mapping method for the detection of commonly found microplastics, namely polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polypropylene (PP). The FLE mapping technique enables the collective recording of emission spectra across a range of excitation wavelengths, revealing the dominant excitation–emission features of different microplastics. This research advances the field by offering a non-destructive and label-free identification of MNP contamination through the use of FL spectral fingerprints.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 488-500 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Photochem |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 28 Nov 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © 2024 World Health Organization. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution IGO License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/legalcode), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In any reproduction of this article there should not be any suggestion that WHO or this article endorse any specific organisation or products. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. This notice should be preserved along with the article's original URL.Data Access Statement
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors on request.Keywords
- fluorescence spectroscopy
- label-free sensing
- microplastic detection