Research
Research
Recently, the environmental presence of micro- and nanoplastics (MNP), which are plastic particles with a size of <5 mm and <1 µm, respectively, has become an issue of high priority1. A major knowledge gap concerns the impact of MNP on human health2. The POLYRISK consortium, which my project is part of, aims to assess this impact3. In order to do so, my research includes the characterization of reference MNP materials, as well as the analysis MNP out of spiked cell cultures, human samples (e.g. blood or saliva) and abiotic samples (air, water). I am particularly interested assessing polymer type, size and morphology of the nanoplastic fraction of such samples. However, direct analysis of MNP from their matrices is often impossible. Therefore, a large part of my project will focus on the development of pretreatment procedures, aiming to facilitate the measurement of nanoplastics even in challenging matrices.
- da Costa, J. P. et al. (Nano)plastics in the environment – Sources, fates and effects. Sci. Total Environ. 566–567, 15–26 (2016).
- Revel, M. et al. Micro(nano)plastics: A threat to human health? Curr. Opin. Environ. Sci. Heal. 1, 17–23 (2018).
- POLYRISK. Risk of microplastics and nanoplastic particles. https://polyrisk.science/.
C.V.
C.V.
2021-present
PhD candidate at the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry, Utrecht University. The Research is carried out within the POLYRISK project, part of the European Cluster on Health Impacts of Micro- and Nanoplastic (CUSP)
Supervisor: dr. Florian Meirer
Research focus on the detection of micro- and nanoplastics from various environmental matrices.
2019-2022
Master Nanomaterials Science at Utrecht University (cum laude)
Thesis on the Detection of Nanoplastics from Environmental Matrices using Nanoscale Infrared Spectroscopy
2015-2019
Bachelor Scheikunde at Utrecht University (cum laude)
Erasmus exchange at Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal.