Plastics in biota: technological readiness level of current methodologies

Abstract

Plastics are persistent in the environment and may be ingested by organisms where they may cause physical harm or release plastic additives. Monitoring is a crucial mechanism to assess the risk of plastics to the marine and terrestrial ecosystem. Unfortunately, due to unharmonised procedures, it remains difficult to compare the results of different studies. This publication, as part of the Horizon project EUROqCHARM, aims to identify the properties of the available analytical processes and methods for the determination of plastics in biota. Based on a systematic review, reproducible analytical pipelines were examined and the technological readiness levels were assessed so that these methods may eventually (if not already) be incorporated into (harmonised) monitoring programs where biota are identified as indicators of plastic pollution.

Revisiting the Strategy for Marine Litter Monitoring within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Msfd)

“…As mentioned by Aliani et al (2023), if applied singularly to each step in an RAP, it has the potential to greatly improve and accelerate the selection, evaluation, and adoption of large-scale plastic monitoring programmes. This approach is being implemented to support the monitoring of surface microplastics (Primpke et al, 2022), sea floor litter within the ICES region (Sandra et al, 2023), and harm within the MSFD (Vanavermaete et al, 2024).…”

“…No indicator species have yet been identified to meet the criteria in the Baltic and Black Seas. Measurements of smaller size classes of microplastics in biota are also expensive and challenging, requiring improved protocols to avoid technical biases (Vanavermaete et al, 2024).…”

Identification of Pristine and Protein Corona Coated Micro- and Nanoplastic Particles with a Colorimetric Sensor Array

“…for identifying and measuring nanoplastics in environmental settings, there is an urgent need for simpler and faster methods to efficiently detect these pollutants. 12,13 Additionally, understanding the "biological memory" of MNPs�whether they have interacted with a biosystem such as biological fluids�is critical for tracing MNPs' potential pathways and pinpointing their sources of release into the environment. 14 Optical sensors, particularly colorimetric sensor arrays, have emerged as rapid, sensitive, and adaptable tools for analyzing liquids, vapors, and gases.…”

“…The isolation and quantification of nanoplastics in real-world samples are both difficult and crucial tasks. While techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering microscopy are available for identifying and measuring nanoplastics in environmental settings, there is an urgent need for simpler and faster methods to efficiently detect these pollutants. , Additionally, understanding the “biological memory” of MNPswhether they have interacted with a biosystem such as biological fluidsis critical for tracing MNPs’ potential pathways and pinpointing their sources of release into the environment …”