Analysis of Microplastics in Aquatic Shellfish by Pyrolysis–Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry after Alkali Digestion and Solvent Extraction

Abstract

Microplastics are harmful to both marine life and humans. Herein, a pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) technique for the detection of microplastics in aquatic shellfish is demonstrated. The organic matter in aquatic shellfish was removed by alkali digestion. Subsequently, using hexafluoroisopropanol as the extraction solvent, the extraction method was optimized. The influence of the digestion process on the nature of microplastics was investigated by analyzing the samples before and after the alkali treatment via infrared spectrometry, laser particle sizing, and scanning electron microscopy. Spiked recovery experiments and an analysis of actual samples were performed using PA6 and PA66 as analytes. A quantitative analysis of the characteristic ion fragment produced by high-temperature cracking was performed after chromatographic separation and mass spectrometry identification. The linear range of this method for PA6 and PA66 was 2–64 μg. The limits of detection of PA6 and PA66 were 0.2 and 0.6 μg, while the limits of quantitation were 0.6 and 2.0 μg, respectively. Recovery ranged from 74.4 to 101.62%, with a precision of 4.53–7.56%. The results suggest that the Py-GC/MS technique is suitable for the analysis and detection of trace microplastics in aquatic shellfish.

Microplastics in the Ecosystem: A Systematic Review of the Methods for Their Detection and Removal

“…International Journal of Ecology band in the IR spectra. By using a qualitative method, this technique enables the identifcation of chemical components on a microscopic scale in various ecosystems, making it a valuable tool for scientifc research and analysis [94]. Micro-FTIR is a highly precise technique for detecting microplastics (MPs) with dimensions less than 100 mm.…”

The Initial Boiling Point of Lubricating Oil as an Indicator for the Assessment of the Possible Contamination of Lubricating Oil with Diesel Oil

“…Highly precise. Among the methods for the analysis of fuel dilution in lubricants is Gas Chromatography (GC) [9] based on ASTM methods D3524, D3525, and D7593 [8]. Such an approach can be aided by quantitation, which is achieved via the integration of the area under fuel peaks measured with a Flame Ionization Detector (FID) [10].…”