Microplastic Pollution: IR Microspectroscopy is Enhancing Chemical Identification

Microplastics pollution in watersheds was reported as early as the 1970’s. Now microplastics are one of the prevalent constituents of marine pollution. Microplastics are differentiated from other plastic particles, being in the size regime of <5 mm. These small plastics present a potential threat to marine ecosystems due to ingestion of the microplastics but have also been noted as a means of concentrating toxic pollutants that may then enter humans through consumption of marine animals. The first step to understanding the nature of a microplastics pollution problem is the correct identification of the plastics. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is a primary analytical method for the identification of organic materials. FT-IR microspectroscopy is well-suited to analyze particles < 5 mm in dimension through the combination of the focusing power of a microscope with the chemical identification capabilities of FT-IR spectroscopy.

We present the FT-IR microspectroscopic analyses of microplastics collected from water samples and living oceanic organisms as a means of tracing the microplastic contamination back to the originating source.

Presenter: Dave Schiering, PhD (Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Redwave)

Dr. David W. Schiering is a founder and Chief Technology Officer of RedWave Technology, a private company that develops and markets vibrational spectroscopy products. Dr. Schiering has many years of experience in the chemical instrumentation field. He has held numerous scientific and management roles in technology and product development and has been previously employed by Smiths Detection, SensIR Technologies, Thermo Electron Corp., and Perkin Elmer. Dr. Schiering has written many publications on various aspects of vibrational spectroscopy. He earned a PhD in analytical chemistry from Miami University, where he is also an adjunct Assistant Professor of Chemistry. Dr. Schiering has served the Coblentz Society as a member of the Board of Managers and as secretary from 1991 to 2010. In 2011, Dr. Schiering was made an Honorary Member of the Coblentz Society and in 2018 received a Society of Applied Spectroscopy Fellows award.