Environmental Analysis of Microplastics Made Simple with FT-IR Imaging

Davide Fracasso, PerkinElmer, Milano, Italy (davide.fracasso@perkinelmer.com)

The widespread uncontrolled use of plastic materials in the last 70 years has led to a huge global presence of microplastics in the environment including the air, soil, water and food. Microplastics are recognized as a major environmental pollutant and are subject to investigation by all regulatory authorities.

Microplastics are defined as being any plastic material greater than 1 micron and less than 5 millimeters in size. They are often the product of overtime break down of larger plastic object like fish nets and landfill waste.

FT-IR Imaging have been adopted as standard methods for the detection and identification of microplastics from a wide range of environments and in a wide range of sample matrices.