Lab gloves may inflate microplastics measurements
TL;DR
University of Michigan researchers found that nitrile and latex gloves shed stearate particles that mimic microplastics and contaminate samples, potentially inflating reported microplastics levels; cleanroom gloves release far fewer particles, and the team developed methods to differentiate true microplastics from glove-derived contaminants so earlier data can be revisited with improved accuracy.
- Scientists shocked to find lab gloves may be skewing microplastics data ScienceDaily
- Contamination from lab gloves casts doubt on microplastics crisis The Times
- Ordinary Lab Gloves May Have Skewed Microplastic Data Nautilus | Science Connected
- Scientists may be overestimating the amount of microplastics in the environment – and the culprit is lab gloves The Conversation
- Lab gloves contain 1000x more microplastics than expected: Study | Air sampler with metal surfaces used for study | Inshorts Inshorts
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