Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Microplastics (MPs), typically defined as plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm, are pervasive in terrestrial and marine ecosystems. There is a need for rapid, portable, low-cost detection systems to assess health and environmental risks. Fluorescent tagging with Nile Red (NR) has emerged as a popular...
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| Format: | Article |
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Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/156413 |
| _version_ | 1826207218807078912 |
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| author | Prasad, Suparnamaaya Bennett, Andrew Triantafyllou, Michael |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sea Grant College Program |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sea Grant College Program Prasad, Suparnamaaya Bennett, Andrew Triantafyllou, Michael |
| author_sort | Prasad, Suparnamaaya |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Microplastics (MPs), typically defined as plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm, are pervasive in terrestrial and marine ecosystems. There is a need for rapid, portable, low-cost detection systems to assess health and environmental risks. Fluorescent tagging with Nile Red (NR) has emerged as a popular detection method, but variations in fluorescent emissions based on NR solvent, plastic polymer, excitation wavelength, and additives complicate standardization. In this study, seven plastic samples stained with acetone-based NR were analyzed using a fluorescent spectrometer to identify optimal emission peaks across UV-Vis excitation wavelengths. These findings aid in selecting appropriate excitation wavelengths and optical filters for future detection systems. Additionally, a straightforward polymer identification scheme was validated against field-collected plastic samples, whose material composition was confirmed via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. This work contributes towards developing accessible microplastic detection technologies by characterizing the fluorescent properties of NR-stained plastics and enhancing the capability for effective environmental monitoring. Future research will expand the dataset to include diverse plastics with varying additives and weathering, and incorporate computer-vision tools for automated data processing and polymer identification. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:45:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/156413 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:22:48Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1564132025-01-11T04:49:39Z Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy Prasad, Suparnamaaya Bennett, Andrew Triantafyllou, Michael Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sea Grant College Program Microplastics (MPs), typically defined as plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm, are pervasive in terrestrial and marine ecosystems. There is a need for rapid, portable, low-cost detection systems to assess health and environmental risks. Fluorescent tagging with Nile Red (NR) has emerged as a popular detection method, but variations in fluorescent emissions based on NR solvent, plastic polymer, excitation wavelength, and additives complicate standardization. In this study, seven plastic samples stained with acetone-based NR were analyzed using a fluorescent spectrometer to identify optimal emission peaks across UV-Vis excitation wavelengths. These findings aid in selecting appropriate excitation wavelengths and optical filters for future detection systems. Additionally, a straightforward polymer identification scheme was validated against field-collected plastic samples, whose material composition was confirmed via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. This work contributes towards developing accessible microplastic detection technologies by characterizing the fluorescent properties of NR-stained plastics and enhancing the capability for effective environmental monitoring. Future research will expand the dataset to include diverse plastics with varying additives and weathering, and incorporate computer-vision tools for automated data processing and polymer identification. 2024-08-28T16:08:12Z 2024-08-28T16:08:12Z 2024-08-15 2024-08-28T13:59:54Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/156413 Prasad, S.; Bennett, A.; Triantafyllou, M. Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12, 1403. PUBLISHER_CC http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmse12081403 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Creative Commons Attribution https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
| spellingShingle | Prasad, Suparnamaaya Bennett, Andrew Triantafyllou, Michael Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy |
| title | Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy |
| title_full | Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy |
| title_short | Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy |
| title_sort | characterization of nile red stained microplastics through fluorescence spectroscopy |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/156413 |
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