The outburst of plastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems poses a potential threat to agriculture and food safety. Studies have already provided evidence for the uptake of plastic microparticles by several plant species, accompanied by numerous developmental effects, using fluorescence labelling techniques. Here, we introduce the implementation of confocal Raman spectroscopy, a label-free method, for the effective detection of microplastics (MPs) accumulation in the roots of a common edible root vegetable plant, Raphanus sativus, after treatment with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) powder. We also demonstrate the concomitant occurrence of phenotypic defects in the polymer-treated plants. We anticipate that this work can provide new insights not only into the extent of the impact this widespread phenomenon has on crop plants but also on the methodological requirements to address it.
Rectangular, millimeter-scale complementary split ring resonators were fabricated, employing the so-called Computer Numerical Control method, combined with a home-built mechanical engraver. Their electromagnetic performance was thoroughly investigated with respect to their dimensions in the frequency regime between 2 and 9 GHz via combining experiments and corresponding theoretical simulations, wherein a considerably effective consistency was obtained. Moreover, their sensing response was extensively investigated against various aqueous solutions enriched with typical fertilizers used in agriculture, as well as detergents commonly used in every-day life. Corresponding experimental results evidently establish the capability of the studied metasurfaces as potential sensors against water pollution.
For multiple years, food packaging migration has been a major concern in food and health sciences. Plastics, such as polyethylene, are continuously utilized in food packaging for preservation and easy handling purposes during transportation and storage. In this work, three types of cheese, Edam, Kefalotyri and Parmesan, of different hardness were studied under two complementary vibrational spectroscopy methods, ATR-FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, to determine the migration of low-density polyethylene from plastic packaging to the surface of cheese samples. The experimental duration of this study was set to 28 days due to the degradation time of the selected cheese samples, which is clearly visible after 1 month in refrigerated conditions at 4 °C. Raman and ATR-FTIR measurements were performed at a 4–3–4–3 day pattern to obtain comparative results. Initially, consistency/repeatability measurement tests were performed on Day0 for each sample of all cheese specimens to understand if there is any overlap between the characteristic Raman and ATR-FTIR peaks of the cheese with the ones from the low-density polyethylene package. We provide evidence that on Day14, peaks of low-density polyethylene appeared due to polymeric migration in all three cheese types we tested. In all cheese samples, microbial outgrowth started to develop after Day21, as observed visually and under the bright-field microscope, causing peak reverse. Food packaging migration was validated using two different approaches of vibrational spectroscopy (Raman and FT-IR), revealing that cheese needs to be consumed within a short time frame in refrigerated conditions at 4 °C.
Raman spectroscopy is a well-defined spectroscopic technique sensitive to the molecular vibrations of materials, since it provides fingerprint-like information regarding the molecular structure of the analyzed samples. It has been extensively used for non-destructive and label-free cell characterization, particularly in the qualitative and quantitative estimation of amino acids, lipids, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates. Lymphoma cell classification is a crucial task for accurate and prompt lymphoma diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. Currently, it is mostly based on limited information and requires costly and time-consuming approaches. In this work, we are proposing a fast characterization and differentiation methodology of lymphoma cell subtypes based on Raman spectroscopy. The study was performed in the temperature range of 15–37 °C to identify the best cell measurement conditions. The proposed methodology is fast, accurate, and requires minimal sample preparation, resulting in a potentially promising, non-invasive strategy for early and accurate cell lymphoma characterization.
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