TY - GEN A1 - Braun, Ulrike A1 - Eisentraut, Paul A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Kittner, Maria A1 - Dümichen, Erik A1 - Thaxton, K. A1 - Kleine-Benne, E. A1 - Anumol, T. T1 - Accelerated Determination of Microplastics in Environmental Samples Using Thermal Extraction Desorption-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (TED-GC/MS) T2 - Agilent Application Notes N2 - There is growing interest in quantifying microplastics in environmental samples. This application note presents a thermal extraction desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TED-GC/MS) method that is well suited to automation and increased sample throughput. The method is also able to detect all particle sizes in the sample as long as the limit of detection (LOD) is reached and allows analysis of larger samples of 15 to 25 mg or more. Samples were decomposed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the gaseous decomposition products were trapped on a solid-phase sorbent, followed by thermal desorption‑gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) using an Agilent 5977B GC/MSD coupled to an Agilent 7890B GC. Target microplastic particle (MP) polymers were identified in environmental samples including surface water, finished compost, house dust, and drinking water. Quantification of MP polymers in environmental samples provided LODs of 0.06 to 2.2 μg, allowing the detection of MPs in trace amounts with sample weights of up to 1 g. Method repeatability was adequate for reliable quantification with RSDs of approximately 6 to 12%. KW - Environment KW - Microplastic particles KW - TED-GC/MS KW - Mass content KW - Thermoanalytical PY - 2020 VL - 2020 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Agilent Technologies Inc. CY - USA AN - OPUS4-51672 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kittner, Maria A1 - Eisentraut, Paul A1 - Dittmann, Daniel A1 - Braun, Ulrike T1 - Decomposability versus detectability: First validation of TED‐GC/MS for microplastic detection in different environmental matrices JF - Applied Research N2 - A fast method for microplastic detection is thermal extraction desorption‐gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TED‐GC/MS), which uses polymer‐specific thermal decomposition products as marker compounds to determine polymer mass contents in environmental samples. So far, matrix impacts of different environmental matrices on TED‐GC/MS performance had not yet been assessed systematically. Therefore, three solid freshwater matrices representing different aquatic bodies with varying organic matter contents were spiked with a total of eight polymers. Additionally, for the first time, the two biodegradable polymers polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) and polylactide (PLA) were analysed using TED‐GC/MS. The methodological focus of this work was on detectability, quality of signal formation as well as realisation of quantification procedures and determination of the limit of detection (LOD) values. Overall, TED‐GC/MS allowed the unambiguous detection of the environmentally most relevant polymers analysed, even at low mass contents: 0.02 wt% for polystyrene (PS), 0.04 wt% for the tyre component styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and 0.2 wt% for polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and PBAT. Further, all obtained LOD values were increased in all matrices compared to the neat polymer without matrix. The LOD of the standard polymers were increased similarly (PS: 0.21–0.34 μg, SBR: 0.27–0.38 μg, PP: 0.32–0.36 μg, PMMA: 0.64–1.30 μg, PET: 0.90–1.37 μg, PE: 3.80–6.99 μg) and their decompositions by radical scission processes were not significantly influenced by the matrices. In contrast, matrixspecific LOD increases of both biodegradable polymers PBAT (LOD: 1.41–7.18 μg) and PLA (0.84–20.46 μg) were observed, probably due to their hetero‐functional character and interactions with the matrices. In conclusion, the TED‐GC/MS performance is not solely determined by the type of the polymers but also by the composition of the matrix. KW - TED-GC/MS KW - Microplastic KW - Freshwater matrices KW - Gas chromatography KW - Mass spectrometry PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/appl.202200089 SN - 2702-4288 VL - 2 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-57419 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -