The DOI matches its Crossref record; 208 of the 209 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Sampling and Quality Assurance and Quality Control: A Guide for Scientists Investigating the Occurrence of Microplastics Across Matrices
Abstract
Plastic pollution is a defining environmental contaminant and is considered to be one of the greatest environmental threats of the Anthropocene, with its presence documented across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The majority of this plastic debris falls into the micro (1 μm–5 mm) or nano (1–1000 nm) size range and comes from primary and secondary sources. Its small size makes it cumbersome to isolate and analyze reproducibly, and its ubiquitous distribution creates numerous challenges when controlling for background contamination across matrices (e.g., sediment, tissue, water, air). Although research on microplastics represents a relatively nascent subfield, burgeoning interest in questions surrounding the fate and effects of these debris items creates a pressing need for harmonized sampling protocols and quality control approaches. For results across laboratories to be reproducible and comparable, it is imperative that guidelines based on vetted protocols be readily available to research groups, many of which are either new to plastics research or, as with any new subfield, have arrived at current approaches through a process of trial-and-error rather than in consultation with the greater scientific community. The goals of this manuscript are to (i) outline the steps necessary to conduct general as well as matrix-specific quality assurance and quality control based on sample type and associated constraints, (ii) briefly review current findings across matrices, and (iii) provide guidance for the design of sampling regimes. Specific attention is paid to the source of microplastic pollution as well as the pathway by which contamination occurs, with details provided regarding each step in the process from generating appropriate questions to sampling design and collection.
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“The LOD was calculated as the mean plus three times the standard deviation (SD) and was used to exclude particles from samples that were below the LOD.53”
From Microplastics and Anthropogenic Particles in Recreationally Caught Freshwater Fish from an Urbanized Region of the North American Great Lakes (2024) · cites this paper as [53]
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Items 201–208 of 208
BENEFITS OF BIOSOLIDS TO SOIL QUALITY AND FERTILITY
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Self-citationThe Ecotoxicology of Plastic Marine Debris
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Self-citationComparison of methods to control floor contamination in an animal research facility
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1 of the 209 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Lusher A.L., App. Spectrosc
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Detection of microplastics in human lung tissue using μFTIR spectroscopy
Jenner, L. C., Rotchell, J. M., Bennett, R. T., Cowen, M., Tentzeris, V., & Sadofsky, L. R. (2022) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154907 · Cited by 1,536
Chemical Analysis of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Challenges, Advanced Methods, and Perspectives
Ivleva, N. P. (2021) · Chemical Reviews · doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00178 · Cited by 1,172
Microplastic Spectral Classification Needs an Open Source Community: Open Specy to the Rescue!
Cowger, W., Steinmetz, Z., Gray, A. B., Munno, K., Lynch, J. M., Hapich, H., Primpke, S., Frond, H. D., Rochman, C. M., & Herodotou, O. (2021) · Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00123 · Cited by 609
Self-citationDetection of Microplastic in Human Placenta and Meconium in a Clinical Setting
Braun, T., Ehrlich, L., Henrich, W., Koeppel, S., Lomako, I., Schwabl, P., & Liebmann, B. (2021) · Pharmaceutics · doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics13070921 · Cited by 546
Primpke, S., Christiansen, S. H., Cowger, W., Frond, H. D., Deshpande, A. D., Fischer, M., Holland, E. B., Meyns, M., O’Donnell, B. A., Oßmann, B. E., et al. (2020) · Applied Spectroscopy · doi:10.1177/0003702820921465 · Cited by 525
Metadata
- Authors
- Brander, S. M., Renick, V. C., Foley, M. M., Steele, C., Woo, M., Lusher, A., Carr, S., Helm, P., Box, C., Cherniak, S., Andrews, R. C., & Rochman, C. M.
- Affiliations
- Oregon State University (US)
- Environmental Services Department, Orange County Sanitation District, Fountain Valley, USA
- San Francisco Estuary Institute (US)
- California State University, Channel Islands (US)
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NO)
- San Jose Creek Water Quality Laboratory, County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles, Whittier, USA
- Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (CA)
- The 5 Gyres Institute, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Brander, Susanne M.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Applied Spectroscopy
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-09
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1099-1125
- ISSN
- 0003-7028 (ISSN-L)
- 1943-3530
- OpenAlex
- W3041758622
- Cited by
- 389
- References
- 209
- Citations by year
- 2026: 68 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 75 · 2023: 67 · 2022: 70 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 11
- FWCI
- 11.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Applied Spectroscopy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- NOAA Marine Debris Research (#NA17NOS9990025)
- Oregon Agricultural Research Foundation
- National Science Foundation (GCR-1935028)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Analytical Chemistry › Analytical chemistry methods development
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Environmental and Analytical Chemistry Studies
- Keywords
- microplastics, sampling protocols, quality assurance, quality control, plastic pollution, background contamination, sampling design, sediment, tissues, water, air, reproducibility, contamination pathways
- MeSH terms
- Microplastics, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Pollutants, Quality Control, Specimen Handling, Guidelines as Topic
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