Facilities

We posses and have access to a range of analytical equipment and experiment tools for both water quality research, particulate transport and emerging pollutant analysis, namely micro- and nanoplastic analysis.

Fluorescence Microscope

For fluorescence microscopy, we use a Nikon SMZ-1000 stereo microscope fitted with a Nikon Intensilight C-HGF1 long-life mercury light source and a Nikon DS-Fi1 5-megapixel cooled colour digital microscope camera head suitable for both brightfield and fluorescence applications. A GFP-B filter set issued during fluorescence mode imaging, with a filter diameter of 25 mm, excitation filter bandwidth of 470/40 nm, emission filter bandwidth of 535/50 nm and a dichromatic mirror/beam splitter at 500 nm. 

Work using this instrument, with developments for a standardised identification tree and uses with Nile red staining for microplastics analysis, are detailed in the following (Nel et al. 2021, Kukkola et al. 2023)

Raman

For Raman spectroscopy measurements, we use a Thermo Fisher Scientific DXR3, placed on a Newport vibration-damping platform to allow for the analysis of small particles. The system is equipped with a 532 and 785 nm laser.

We have also developed a combined fluorescence guidance adapter to allow for higher microplastic sample throughput. The adapter design is available for academic use (link below), and a link to the published manuscript detailing the setup is available (here – tbc).

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