Progress (Week 13)

              

Test for biodegradation is going as planned. We just finished ‘Day 28’ of co-incubation of microplastic and Pseudomonas species and made sure the Pseudomonas species are alive and still active (figure 1). The next steps are crucial for the whole entire research. Results of biodegradation will be analyzed using FTIR. FTIR also known as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, is a machine that analyzes bond vibrations of organic (sometimes inorganic) materials. A one hypothesized method for analyzing biodegradation is to first get a baseline image/data of the alcohol-treated microplastics from the FTIR machine. Once the bond vibrations of the alcohol-treated microplastics are observed, the Pseudomonas and microplastic co-incubated samples will again be run through the FTIP to see the different bond vibrations of each set of dates (7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 28 days). To be clear, it’s like comparing five images/data’s. One would be the image of the alcohol-treated microplastic, and the remaining four would be the image results from day 7, day, 14, day 21, and day 28.

Figure 1: Pseudomonas fluorescens on PIA media plate