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Polymers
Volume 17
Issue 21
10.3390/polym17212953
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Feasibility Study on Quantification of Biodegradable Polyester Microplastics Based on Intrinsic Fluorescence

by
Tian-Chao Shi
1,2,
Ze-Yang Zhang
2,
Xiao-Han Zhou
1,2,
Xing Zhang
1,
Shao-Chuang Su
1,
Hong Yang
1,
Hao-Bo Chai
1,
Ge-Xia Wang
2,
Jun-Hui Ji
2,
Yue Ding
3,*,
Xu-Ran Liu
1,* and
Dan Huang
2,*
1
College of Materials Engineering, North China Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Langfang 065000, China
2
National Engineering Research Center of Engineering and Ecological Plastics, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
3
School of Material and Chemical Engineering, Xuzhou University of Technology, Xuzhou 221018, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Polymers 2025, 17(21), 2953; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17212953
Submission received: 1 October 2025 / Revised: 24 October 2025 / Accepted: 3 November 2025 / Published: 5 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application and Degradation of Polymeric Materials in Agriculture)
Versions Notes

Abstract

While biodegradable plastics alleviate plastic pollution, their degradation-derived biodegradable microplastics (BMPs) pose new ecological risks, necessitating efficient quantification methods. This study explores a label-free approach by leveraging the intrinsic fluorescence of common biodegradable polyesters (PLA, PHB, PBS, PBAT, PCL). We find that biodegradable microplastics exhibit two types of characteristic fluorescence emission: one originating from molecular functional groups and the other originating from the chromophore formed by the aggregation of conjugated groups. Using PBAT as a model, we confirm that fluorescence intensity depends on the BMPs’ size and shape. Under 380 nm excitation, concentration-dependent signals are observed at 436 nm (indirectly from PBAT-enhanced water Raman scattering) and 465 nm (directly from PBAT intrinsic fluorescence), leading to successful linear models between BMPs’ mass concentration and fluorescence intensity over 100–500 mg/L, with correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.877 and 0.963, respectively. Compared with the fluorescence labeling method, the intrinsic fluorescence approach achieves comparable R2 while exhibiting lower signal intensity (~103). Nevertheless, its operational simplicity offers a distinct advantage for the rapid quantification of pre-isolated and purified microplastics.
Keywords: biodegradable microplastics; PBAT; fluorescence quantification; visualization; rapid detection biodegradable microplastics; PBAT; fluorescence quantification; visualization; rapid detection

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Shi, T.-C.; Zhang, Z.-Y.; Zhou, X.-H.; Zhang, X.; Su, S.-C.; Yang, H.; Chai, H.-B.; Wang, G.-X.; Ji, J.-H.; Ding, Y.; et al. Feasibility Study on Quantification of Biodegradable Polyester Microplastics Based on Intrinsic Fluorescence. Polymers 2025, 17, 2953. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17212953

AMA Style

Shi T-C, Zhang Z-Y, Zhou X-H, Zhang X, Su S-C, Yang H, Chai H-B, Wang G-X, Ji J-H, Ding Y, et al. Feasibility Study on Quantification of Biodegradable Polyester Microplastics Based on Intrinsic Fluorescence. Polymers. 2025; 17(21):2953. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17212953

Chicago/Turabian Style

Shi, Tian-Chao, Ze-Yang Zhang, Xiao-Han Zhou, Xing Zhang, Shao-Chuang Su, Hong Yang, Hao-Bo Chai, Ge-Xia Wang, Jun-Hui Ji, Yue Ding, and et al. 2025. "Feasibility Study on Quantification of Biodegradable Polyester Microplastics Based on Intrinsic Fluorescence" Polymers 17, no. 21: 2953. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17212953

APA Style

Shi, T.-C., Zhang, Z.-Y., Zhou, X.-H., Zhang, X., Su, S.-C., Yang, H., Chai, H.-B., Wang, G.-X., Ji, J.-H., Ding, Y., Liu, X.-R., & Huang, D. (2025). Feasibility Study on Quantification of Biodegradable Polyester Microplastics Based on Intrinsic Fluorescence. Polymers, 17(21), 2953. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17212953

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