Microplastics versus natural mineral particles. How to create and test them while maintaining environmental relevance.

Whether microplastics cause different effects than inert natural particles, and how to create relevant testing materials, are key questions in microplastics research. We prepared Environmentally Relevant Microplastic (ERMP) and Mineral Microparticle (ERMS) mixtures with similar levels of polydispersity and tested their 28-day chronic effects on the reproduction and growth of L. variegatus at two different organic matter (OM) contents (average and enriched).

Twenty years of microplastic pollution research-what have we learned?

Twenty years after the first publication that used the term microplastic, we review current understanding, refine definitions, and consider future prospects. Microplastics arise from multiple sources, including tires, textiles, cosmetics, paint, and the fragmentation of larger items. They are widely distributed throughout the natural environment, with evidence of harm at multiple levels of biological organization.

3D analysis of microplastic settling in algal suspensions.

The influence of algae presence in surface water on the settling velocities of microplastics is unknown, and determining it is challenging due to the turbidity of algal suspensions. Measuring the settling velocity of microplastics has traditionally relied on either manual measurement techniques or 2D Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV). This study introduces a 3D-PTV method tailored to determine the effects of algae (Synechoccocussp.