Moschou, Panagiotis Nikolaou
- Department of Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH)
- University of Crete
Research article2021Peer reviewedOpen access
Tympa, Leda-Eleni; Katsara, Klytaimnistra; Moschou, Panagiotis N.; Kenanakis, George; Papadakis, Vassilis M.
The outburst of plastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems poses a potential threat to agriculture and food safety. Studies have already provided evidence for the uptake of plastic microparticles by several plant species, accompanied by numerous developmental effects, using fluorescence labelling techniques. Here, we introduce the implementation of confocal Raman spectroscopy, a label-free method, for the effective detection of microplastics (MPs) accumulation in the roots of a common edible root vegetable plant, Raphanus sativus, after treatment with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) powder. We also demonstrate the concomitant occurrence of phenotypic defects in the polymer-treated plants. We anticipate that this work can provide new insights not only into the extent of the impact this widespread phenomenon has on crop plants but also on the methodological requirements to address it.
label-free; microscopy; detection; plastic; pollution; environment; edible; crop plants; ABS
Materials
2021, Volume: 14, number: 9, article number: 2329Publisher: MDPI
SDG2 Zero hunger
SDG3 Good health and well-being
Environmental Sciences
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092329
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/112032