Short-Term Scientific Mission in Sicily
Implementation of Raman spectroscopy on micro- and nano-plastic analysis in the SMSC lab – Collaborative mission at the CNR-ICPF NanoSoftLab
2024/10/30
Alexandra Foetisch, a researcher at TU Darmstadt’s Soil Mineralogy and Soil Chemistry (SMSC) Lab, has returned from a productive Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at the NanoSoftLab of Italy’s CNR-ICPF, where she learned the application of Raman spectroscopy techniques for micro- and nanoplastic analysis. This collaborative mission, made possible through the PRIORITY COST Action, aimed to add state-of-the-art Raman scattering methods to TU Darmstadt’s tools allowing to identify and analyze environmental micro- and nanoplastics.
During the mission, Dr. Foetisch focused on optimizing Raman parameters to achieve high-resolution spectra of sub-micrometer plastic particles, creating robust data processing routines through the OpenSpecy R package to improve polymer identification. This work sets the stage for implementing these optimized techniques within the SMSC Lab, enhancing its capabilities in environmental plastic monitoring and supporting a LOEWE founded project aiming to automatize nanoplastic characterization in environmental matrices.
The STSM marks the beginning of a promising cooperation between CNR-ICPF’s NanoSoftLab and the SMSC Lab at TU Darmstadt, with both labs committed to advancing research and methodologies that address plastic pollution on a global scale.
