Ordinary Lab Gloves May Have Skewed Microplastic Data
4 hours ago
- #laboratory contamination
- #microplastics
- #research methodology
- Scientists may have skewed microplastics data by wearing gloves that shed particles mimicking microplastics.
- Nitrile and latex gloves release 'stearates,' hydrocarbons that can be mistaken for polyethylene in lab tests.
- The issue was discovered accidentally while researching atmospheric microplastics using nitrile gloves.
- All tested gloves caused about 2,000 false positives per mm² of contact, but clean-room gloves reduced this to 100.
- The study emphasizes the need for refined methodology, not dismissing the reality of microplastic pollution.