Publication details
Mikroplasty v povrchových vodách - odběrové, extrakční a analytické metody
| Title in English | Microplastics in surface waters - sampling, extraction and analytical methods |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Microplastics, defined as synthetic polymer particles ranging from 1 µm to 5 mm, are now, without exaggeration, ubiquitous. Their impact on organisms, communities, and entire ecosystems is not yet fully understood. As watercourses are considered a primary transport system for microplastics, research into surface water pollution has become one of the fastest-developing scientific fields over the last decade. A crucial first step in assessing the environmental risks of microplastics is to understand their distribution in aquatic environments, specifically identifying their entry and accumulation points. Our main objective in the mikroplast-IKA project (TACR) is to develop, test, and certify a methodology for analyzing the quantity and type of microplastic particles in various aquatic matrices: surface water, river sediment, and biota (represented by macrozoobenthos). This methodology will outline procedures for sampling, extraction, and purification of microplastics from these matrices, as well as their subsequent analysis and evaluation using µFT-IR transmission spectroscopy. Currently, a mandatory microplastic sampling methodology only exists for water intended for human consumption (EU 2024/1441, supplementing directive EU 2020/2184). We are following this guideline for the MicroDrink project (Interreg Danube Region), where international collaboration focuses on standardizing sampling and evaluation methods using adequate analytical techniques like µFT-IR transmission spectroscopy, tested and standardized through inter-laboratory comparisons. However, standardized sampling and processing methods for surface water matrices still require optimization and testing, given the significant temporal and spatial variability in microplastic distribution within aquatic environments. |
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