{
  "abstract": "Microplastic analysis is a critical tool for environmental risk assessments and policy development, aligning with several UN Sustainability Goals, however the extent to which analytical outcomes depend on instrument type and spectral reference libraries remains poorly quantified. Here, we present an inter-laboratory comparison study across seven countries evaluating both infrared polymer identification and fluorescent microscopy quantification, using pristine individual polymer standards, mixed polymer standards, and controlled recovery experiments. Participants used standardised protocols and reference materials, differing only in instrument manufacturer, type, reference library, and observer. Our results demonstrate substantial inter-laboratory variability in spectra match quality, polymer identification accuracy, polymer composition in mixed samples, and recovery rates from standardised matrices. Our findings highlight strong instrument- and library-dependent effects on data output despite the implementation of standardised protocols. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that protocol standardisation alone is insufficient to ensure inter-laboratory comparability and that substantial uncertainty persists in reported microplastic composition and abundance. We therefore propose a collaborative approach between researchers and instrument manufacturers encompassing library harmonisation, instrument calibration, and transparent reporting. Without such measures, reported microplastic composition and abundance may continue to reflect laboratory-specific artefacts rather than true environmental variability, ultimately limiting the confidence and policy impact of the reported results.\n\nSupplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64477-w.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Environmental & Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW UK",
    "College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China",
    "State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of Ministry of Education, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development (Quzhou, Hebei), China Agricultural University, Beijing, China",
    "Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China",
    "Soils Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt",
    "Plant Nutrition Department, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt",
    "ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, India",
    "Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology, Homogama, Sri Lanka",
    "Department of Urban Bioresources, Faculty of Urban and Aquatic Bioresources, University of Sri Jayawardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka",
    "Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka",
    "Soils and Fertilizers Institute, Ha Noi, Vietnam",
    "Bioplastic Innovation Hub, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 25,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Martine Graf",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7994-0529"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "David R. Chadwick"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yingming Sun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Fan Ding"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Siyang Ren"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kai Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Changrong Yan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Shitong Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Xuejun Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Mona Tolba"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Ahmed Mosa"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Sanjay Singh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Tapan Adhikari"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Asit Mandal"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Jyoti K. Thakur"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Ajay Yadav"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Meththa Gimhani"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Achini Dias"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Surani Chathurika"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Mojith Ariyaratne"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Hao T. T. Dang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Hien V. Nguyen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Tien T. Minh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Samantha Viljoen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Davey L. Jones"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6na9x2p0hye42.bib",
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  "doi": "10.1038/s41598-026-64477-w",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13710154/",
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  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
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  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-64477-w_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13710154",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-07-01",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6na9x2p0hye42.ris",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:2310|Microplastics and Plastic Pollution",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
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  "title": "Instrument-dependent variability affects both microplastic polymer identification and quantification: an inter-laboratory comparison using polymer standards",
  "title_text": "Instrument-dependent variability affects both microplastic polymer identification and quantification: an inter-laboratory comparison using polymer standards",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T14:20:46Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6na9x2p0hye42",
  "venue": "Scientific Reports",
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}