Fourier-transform infrared microscope to characterize microplastics isolated from environmental matrices

我们的研究小组正在努力通过测量水，沉积物，土壤以及水生和陆生生物群的微塑料含量，生成关于微塑料对淡水和陆地生态系统污染程度的特定数据，相对于海洋生态系统，对微塑料的研究要少得多。我们的研究项目还表征和量化了加拿大各地生物固体、市政堆肥和废水中存在的微塑料，这些微塑料代表了土壤和淡水生态系统暴露于微塑料的主要途径。我们的研究还产生了关于微塑料浓度的数据，这些数据对加拿大淡水和陆地生态系统中不同营养位置的重要淡水和土壤生物群造成了不利影响，这对于了解微塑料的影响至关重要。这些数据对于描述微塑料对加拿大淡水和陆地生态系统构成的风险至关重要。量化不同大小和类型的微塑料的风险是制定数据驱动计划的第一步，该计划旨在通过政策和决策来管理对加拿大淡水和陆地生态系统的影响。 我们研究计划的一个重要因素是能够确定我们从环境基质中分离出的微粒实际上是由塑料组成的。有几个原因可以解释为什么能够确认我们从水、沉积物、土壤、废水、生物固体和生物区系组织中分离的微粒的组成是至关重要的。1)为了准确评估微塑料对加拿大生态系统的风险，我们需要能够准确量化这些生态系统对微塑料的暴露程度。完全采用视觉识别可能会导致高估微塑料暴露，这将导致高估对加拿大生态系统的风险，2）为了开始识别加拿大生态系统的微塑料的主要来源，我们需要能够确定构成微塑料的塑料类型，我们从水，沉积物，土壤，废水，生物固体中分离出来，以及水生和陆生生物的组织。为了证实我们从这些环境基质中分离出的微粒是由塑料组成的，我们需要能够表征微粒的材料。确定微粒组成的最准确的方法是傅里叶变换红外光谱法（FT-IR）。使用FT-IR生成的光谱可以与材料和纤维的各种光谱数据库相匹配。使用FT-IR来表征微塑料对于生成可以自信地用于环境中微塑料风险评估的数据至关重要。出于这些原因，我们的研究小组正在申请资金购买FT-IR显微镜。使用FT-IR显微镜将大大提高我们研究计划的影响力。

Our research group is working on generating Canadian-specific data on the magnitude of pollution of freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems by microplastics, which have been far less studied relative to marine ecosystems, by measuring the microplastic content of water, sediment, soil, and aquatic and terrestrial biota. Our research program also characterizes and quantifies the microplastics present in biosolids, municipal compost, wastewater effluent across Canada, which each represent a major pathway of exposure of soil and freshwater ecosystems to microplastics. Our study is also generating data on the concentration of microplastics that cause adverse effects in important freshwater and soil biota at different trophic positions in Canada's freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, which is essential to understanding the impact of microplastics. These data are critical for characterizing the risk that microplastics pose to Canada's freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. Quantifying the risk of different sizes and types of microplastics is the first step in developing a data-driven plan to manage the impact to Canada's freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems through policy and decision making.    An important element of our research program is being able to determine that the microparticles that we are isolating from environmental matrices are actually composed of plastic. There are several reasons why it is critical to be able to confirm the composition of the microparticles that we are isolating from water, sediment, soil, wastewater, biosolids, and tissue of biota. 1) To accurately assess the risk of microplastics to Canada's ecosystems, we need to be able to accurately quantify the exposure of these ecosystems to microplastics. Employing exclusively visual identification can result in overestimation of microplastics exposure, which would result in an overestimation of risk to Canada's ecosystems, 2) To begin to identify the major sources of microplastics to Canada's ecosystems, we need to be able to determine the type of plastic that makes up the microplastics that we isolate from water, sediment, soil, wastewater, biosolids, and tissue of aquatic and terrestrial biota. To confirm that the microparticles that we have isolated from these environmental matrices are composed of plastic, we need to be able to characterize the material of the microparticles. The most accurate method to identify the composition of microparticles is Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The spectra generated using FT-IR can be matched to various spectral databases for materials and fibres. The use of FT-IR to characterize microplastics has become essential for the production of data that can be confidently used in risk assessment of microplastics in the environment. For these reasons, our research group is requesting funding to purchase a FT-IR microscope. Access to an FT-IR microscope will considerably elevate the impact of our research program.