Sensitive high-throughput analytic methodologies are needed to quantify microplastic particles (MPs) and thereby enable routine monitoring of MPs to ultimately secure animal, human, and environmental health. Here we report a multiplexed analytical and flow cytometry-based high-throughput methodology to quantify MPs in aqueous suspensions. The developed analytic MPs-quantification platform provides a sensitive as well as high-throughput detection of MPs that relies on the material binding peptide Liquid Chromatography Peak I (LCI) conjugated to Alexa-fluorophores (LCIF16C-AF488, LCIF16C-AF594, and LCIF16C-AF647). These fluorescent material-binding peptides (also termed plastibodies) were used to fluorescently label polystyrene MPs, whereas Alexa-fluorophores alone exhibited a negligible background fluorescence. Mixtures of polystyrene MPs that varied in size (500 nm to 5 μm) and varied in labeled populations were analyzed and sorted into distinct populations reaching sorting efficiencies >90 % for 1 × 106 sorted events. Finally, a multiplexed quantification and sorting with up to three plastibodies was successfully achieved to validate that the combination of plastibodies and flow cytometry is a powerful and generally applicable methodology for multiplexed analysis, quantification, and sorting of microplastic particles.

BAUTEN Wiwik;  NOTH Maximilian;  KURKINA Tetiana;  CONTRERAS LEIVA Francisca;  JI Yu;  DESMET Cloe;  SERRA BELTRAN Miguel;  GILLILAND Douglas;  SCHWANEBERG Ulrich; 

2023-07-25

ELSEVIER

JRC128805

0048-9697 (online),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC128805,   

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160450 (online),