Microplastic Analysis and Plastic Signature Laboratory

The Microplastic Analysis and Plastic Signature (MAPS) Laboratory integrates environmental chemistry, geochemistry, and material/polymer science to qualitatively and quantitatively understand how plastics interact and decompose in natural and engineered settings.

1. Plastic Materials in the Terrestrial Environment: We study how micro- and nanoplastics interact with soils and microbial communities. Laboratory incubations and imaging experiments explore whether soil microbiomes and biofilms promote the decomposition of plastics, providing mechanistic insight into biodegradation pathways and carbon flow through microbial biomass.

2. Chemical and Physical Characterization of Plastic in Natural and Engineered Environments: Projects are underway to collect, isolate, and identify plastics from urban environments—such as NYC park soils and air, and engineered biosolids to document their abundance, composition, and size distributions. These datasets will help assess urban contamination and inform pollution mitigation strategies.

3. Human Tissue Analysis and Environmental Exposures. The lab studies plastic contaminants in human tissues to better understand potential impacts on human health. We develop and validate analytical methods for preparing, processing, and analyzing biological samples with an emphasis on accuracy, reproducibility, and contamination control. By improving detection limits and methodological transparency, our work aims to provide reliable data that can support broader investigations of human exposure and health outcomes.

4. Method and Instrument Development. A key thrust of our work is the creation and validation of new analytical and thermal/spectral approaches for polymer identification and degradation studies. We aim to advance microplastics research by developing reproducible, quantitative methods that move beyond particle counting toward robust chemical measurements in complex environmental and biological matrices. In collaboration with polymer processing and microplastic metrology experts, we integrate isotopic, thermal, and spectroscopic measurements and develop isotopically labeled polymers to evaluate their use as internal standards for mass-spectrometry–based techniques such as Py-GC/MS, addressing a critical gap in current microplastics analyses.

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