Positive controls with representative materials are essential for the advancement of microplastics research

McIlwraith, Hayley K., Lindeque, Penelope K., Tolhurst, Trevor J. and Cole, Matthew (2025) Positive controls with representative materials are essential for the advancement of microplastics research. Microplastics and Nanoplastics, 5.

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Abstract

Reporting accurate microplastics concentrations across environmental matrices is imperative for robust monitoring and regulation. However, recovering microplastics from complex matrices, such as soils and sediments, is hugely challenging. Numerous methods have been published to facilitate microplastics extraction from such matrices, but these protocols typically lack validation of microplastic recovery efficiency. We argue that environmentally realistic microplastic recovery rate experiments must be reported as standard to increase the validity of microplastics pollution research, particularly for studies focused on complex matrices. Here, we outline the importance of standardized recovery rate tests and demonstrate this experimentally using saltmarsh sediments as a case study. Building-upon established protocols, an iterative approach was used to test the recovery of four types of environmentally relevant microplastics: polypropylene (PP) fragments, polyethylene (PE) films, polyamide (PA) fibers and polyester (PET) fibers. For protocols attaining >50% microplastic recovery, these methods were optimized to attain maximal recovery of all plastic types, and optimal methods replicated to determine repeatability. Most methods demonstrated efficient removal of organic and inorganic materials with reasonable recovery rates for fragments and films, but many methods failed to sufficiently recover fibers. This further underscores the need for environmentally representative reference materials in microplastics research. Owing to the differences and complexities across environmental matrices, the standardization of microplastic extraction methods is unlikely. Therefore, recovery rate experiments with representative reference microplastics should be a requirement to increase accuracy, reliability, and comparability.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Funding information: This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council and ARIES DTP [grant number NE/S007334/1]. PKL and MC were funded by the March Marine Initiative.
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Geosciences
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Feb 2025 17:30
Last Modified:	07 Mar 2025 11:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98585
DOI:	10.1186/s43591-025-00115-y

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