Pyrolysis-GC–MS analysis of ingested polystyrene microsphere content in individual Daphnia magna

Abstract

Microplastic (MP) pollution in the aquatic environment is a cause for increasing concern. However, analyzing MPs ingested by small organisms, such as zooplankton, is difficult because of the low content and small size of the ingested MPs. We attempted to determine the content of ingested MPs in individual zooplankton using pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC–MS). To establish zooplankton model of MP ingestion, individual Daphnia magna were cultivated separately in microplate cells with polystyrene (PS) microspheres (10 μm in diameter, 245,000 particles, 135 μg) under different conditions. To prepare calibration curves for determining ingested PS content, approximately 100–150 μg of commercially available Daphnia-based powdered fish food, roughly corresponding to the weight of a single D. magna organism, was mixed with PS microspheres (0.005–26 μg) and analyzed using Py-GC–MS at 600 °C. In the resulting pyrograms, peaks of the styrene monomer and trimer from PS were detected, and linear relationships were obtained between the relative peak area and the amount of added PS. Finally, the cultivated zooplankton were individually subjected to Py-GC–MS analysis, and the ingested PS content in each zooplankton was successfully determined. Individual zooplankton cultured with PS in the absence of food ingested 2.3–7.9 μg of PS particles, whereas that in the presence of food (Chlorella vulgaris) ingested only 0.1–0.2 μg of PS particles. This result suggests that zooplankton might preferentially ingest ordinary food when both food and MPs are present, although further systematic studies are necessary to validate this observation.