Visualizing undyed microplastic particles and fibers with plasmon-enhanced fluorescenceShow others and affiliations
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 microplastics, 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 superhydrophobicity 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 microplastic research, helping us to detect, study, understand microplastic dynamics in water based systems. © 2022 The Authors
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier B.V. , 2022. Vol. 442, article id 136117
Keywords [en]
Analysis methods, Enhanced fluorescence, Microplastics, Plasmonic nanostructures, Water samples, Biodegradable polymers, Elastomers, Electromagnetic fields, Fluorescence imaging, Microplastic, Substrates, Analysis method, Fluorescence enhancement, Global production, Global use, Microplastic particles, NanoPillar, Fluorescence microscopy
National Category
Environmental Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-59210DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2022.136117Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85127797534OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-59210DiVA, id: diva2:1668242
Note
Funding details: NNF20SA0063552; Funding details: Villum Fonden, 9301; Funding details: Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, H2020; Funding details: Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, DNRF, DNRF122; Funding details: Naturvårdsverket, NVV, NV-06547-19; Funding details: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, SJTU, WH220403011; Funding details: Horizon 2020, 883390; Funding text 1: The financial support from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (project: NV-06547-19) is gratefully acknowledged. T. Rindzevicius acknowledges the financial support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 883390 (H2020-SU-SECU-2019 SERSing Project), the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF122), the Villum Fonden (grant no. 9301) for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), and the BioInnovation Institute Foundation for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (grant no. NNF20SA0063552). K. Wu acknowledges Double First-Class University Construction Fund from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (WH220403011).; Funding text 2: The financial support from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (project: NV-06547-19) is gratefully acknowledged. T. Rindzevicius acknowledges the financial support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 883390 (H2020-SU-SECU-2019 SERSing Project), the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF122), the Villum Fonden (grant no. 9301) for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), and the BioInnovation Institute Foundation for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (grant no. NNF20SA0063552). K. Wu acknowledges Double First-Class University Construction Fund from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (WH220403011).
2022-06-132022-06-132022-06-13Bibliographically approved