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Analysis of institutional authors

López-Rosales A, Ferreiro B, Andrade J, Fernández-Amado M, González-Pleiter M, López-Mahía P, Rosal R, Muniategui-Lorenzo SAuthor

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February 6, 2024
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A reliable method to determine airborne microplastics using quantum cascade laser infrared spectrometry

Publicated to:Science Of The Total Environment. 913 169678- - 2024-02-25 913(), DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169678

Authors: López-Rosales, A; Ferreiro, B; Andrade, J; Fernández-Amado, M; González-Pleiter, M; López-Mahía, P; Rosal, R; Muniategui-Lorenzo, S

Affiliations

Univ Alcala, Dept Chem Engn, E-28871 Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Fac Sci, Dept Biol, E-28049 Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Inst Environm, Univ Coruna, Grp Appl Analyt Chem, Campus Zapateira S-N, E-15071 La Coruna, Spain - Author
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid - Author
Universidad de Alcalá - Author
Universidade da Coruña - Author
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Abstract

The number of studies dealing with airborne microplastics (MPs) is increasing but sampling and sample treatment are not standardized, yet. Here, a fast and reliable method to characterize MPs is presented. It involves the study of two passive sampling devices to collect atmospheric bulk deposition (wet and dry deposition) and three digestion methods (two alkaline-oxidative and an oxidative) to treat the samples. The alkaline-oxidative method based on KOH and NaClO was selected for a mild organic matrix digestion. In addition, some operational parameters of a high-throughput quantum cascade laser-based infrared device (LDIR) were optimized: an effective automatic tiered approach to differentiate fibres from particles (>90 % success in validation) and a criterion to establish positive matches when comparing an unknown spectrum against the spectral database (proposed match index > 0.85). The procedural analytical recoveries were very good for particles (82–90 %) and slightly lower for fibres (62–73 %). Finally, the amount and type of MPs deposited at a sub-urban area NW Spain were evaluated. Most common polymers were Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP) and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The deposition rates ranged 98–1220 MP/m2/day, ca. 1.7 % of the total collected particles. More than 50 % of the total MPs deposited were in the 20–50 μm size range, whereas fibres were mostly in the 50–500 μm size range.

Keywords

bulk depositionchinaextractionfibersinfrared spectrometryldirpassive air samplersprotocolquantum cascade laserAtmospheric falloutAtmospheric microplasticsBulk depositionInfrared spectrometryLdirPassive air samplersQuantum cascade laser

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Science Of The Total Environment due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position 31/358, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Environmental Sciences. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 5.09, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-18, the following number of citations:

  • Scopus: 3

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-18:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 46.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 69 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 2.35.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 3 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://repositorio.uam.es/handle/10486/716836

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (GONZALEZ PLEITER, MIGUEL) .