Moschou, Panagiotis Nikolaou
- Department of Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH)
- University of Crete
Abstract
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.
Keywords
label-free; microscopy; detection; plastic; pollution; environment; edible; crop plants; ABS
Published in
Materials
2021, volume: 14, number: 9, article number: 2329
Publisher: MDPI
SLU Authors
Global goals (SDG)
SDG2 Zero hunger
SDG3 Good health and well-being
UKÄ Subject classification
Environmental Sciences
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092329
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/112032