My name is Enrica Alasonati, leading WP4 dedicated to Interlaboratory Comparisons. I’m senior scientist at LNE, the National Metrology Institute of France and my research focus on nanoparticle and micro/nano-plastics separation and characterization in complex media, including environmental, biological samples, and consumer products, supporting regulatory compliance and environmental monitoring.
Our institute brings more than 10 years of expertise in traceable nanomaterial characterisation using combination of microscopy-based, spectroscopic, chromatographic, mass spectrometry and separation/fractionation techniques, and advanced sample handling infrastructure. LNE actively participates in EU projects on nanoparticle characterisation and promote inter-laboratory comparisons studies. Together with my colleagues and with the partners of the PlasticTrace project we take immense pride in contributing to the advancement of microplastic and nanoplastic measurement techniques. Our team is deeply committed to ensuring the reliability and accuracy of analyses through interlaboratory comparisons, helping to refine methodologies that will support future regulatory frameworks and environmental policies.
So, follow us on social media to stay updated on these key initiatives!
Together with VAMAS, PlasticTrace is currently organising the first intercomparison on nanoplastics—curious to learn more? Keep reading this newsletter!
From all of us at LNE,
Enrica Alasonati
Work package leader of PlasticTrace WP4 activities – Interlaboratory comparisons
Interlaboratory comparisons (ILC) play a key role in standardising methodologies for small microplastics (SMPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) characterisation. They enhance research consistency by identifying best practices and areas for improvement ensuring reproducibility and reliability of results across laboratories.
See the full flyer for the VAMAS ILC and register here. Registrations are still open until end of February!
LNE, BAM, INRIM, NIVA and LGC worked jointly to define a good strategy for interlaboratory comparisons on selected SMPs/NPs neat materials. Input from WP1, including characterisation using various techniques and homogeneity/stability testing, guided the decision to focus efforts on particle number concentration, mass fraction and size measurements.
A key achievement of the WP was the implication in the ILC trial for the validation of ISO 16094-2 standard “Water quality — Analysis of microplastics in water – Part 2: vibrational spectroscopy methods for waters with low content of suspended solids including drinking water”. 12 expert laboratories, external to the project, participated to the ISO 16094-2 ILC exercise. PET Tablets produced in the project were selected as reference materials by the ILC Organising Committee for the validation of the present methodology and distributed to the selected participants worldwide.
PlasticTrace supported this ILC trial for statistical data treatment. The results have been presented at the ISO international meeting in October 2024 and at the
Stakeholder workshop of PlasticTrace in December 2024.
A second key achievement is the organisation of the VAMAS TWA 45 P3 interlaboratory comparison, which focuses on validating targeted techniques for measuring size distribution, number concentration, and mass fraction of nanoplastics. This study, involving multiple international laboratories, will provide data for assessing method repeatability and reproducibility, supporting harmonisation and pre-standardisation.
Looking ahead, WP4 will continue its work on method harmonisation and best-practice guidance, ensuring that the validated techniques can be widely implemented for regulatory and industrial applications. These efforts contribute directly to improving the comparability of microplastic and nanoplastic measurements, a crucial step towards the development of new environmental and food safety standards.
I’m Sébastien, a research engineer in statistics at the Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d’Essais. My background is in electrical engineering and applied mathematics. Then I worked on bidding algorithms for automatic advertising on websites and did an industrial thesis on statistical approaches for numerical simulators at Safran Aircraft Engines. The diversity of subjects covered by LNE (and by NMI in general) enables me to continue to work on a wide range of statistical applications.
In particular, I work on the analysis of interlaboratory measurements. These comparisons are used to assess the reproducibility of measurements made by a group of laboratories, to better characterise measurement uncertainty. Statistical tools are fundamental in metrology, as they enable estimates to be made on the basis of a finite number of measurements, and in some sense make it possible to objectivise conclusions. I’m particularly interested in high-impact societal and environmental applications.
I’m delighted to have joined and contributed to the PlasticTrace project, where I’ve supported the statistical analysis of vibrational spectroscopy methods for drinking water and waters with low content of natural suspended solids. I look forward to continuing to work on this major public health issue.
PlasticTrace Consortium met just before the holiday break in Postnova Analytics’s Headquarters in Landsberg, Germany.
Here we discussed the projects progress, shared results amongst partners, and concluded with a hybrid Stakeholder Workshop organised in the collaboration with the COST Action Priority network.
Participants to the workshop included representatives from The Technical University of Munich, EUROFINS Hungary, Microplastic Solution, the European Commission Joint Research Commission Centre and the cost action ICPLASTIC. At the workshop we discussed the state of the art concerning reference materials, standardised methods for microplastic analysis, and interlaboratory comparisons.
On 21st January, Andy Booth presented at the webinar series hosted by Cambridge University Press, where he spoke about the current status and future needs for small microplastic and nanoplastic test and reference materials in research.
Andy also joined the panel debate alongside Steve Fletcher, Lizzi Fuller, Karen Raubenheimer and Peter Manyara on the Science-policy Interface debate. You can watch recordings of both events here.
The progress of PlasticTrace was discussed at the annual meeting of Working Group 1 of the COST Action ICPLASTIC, held in Brno.
This hybrid meeting had a session on reference materials and interlaboratory comparison (ILC) studies, chaired by Bert van Bavel. The session included presentations by Nazier Benismail on the upcoming ISO standard for microplastic analysis in water samples (ISO 16094-2) and by Stefania Frederici on the results of a questionnaire on ILC studies distributed by the COST Action Priority.
Bert van Bavel and Vilde Kloster Snekkevik attended the NORMAN general assembly and presented the collaborative work with NIVA, including the ILS for the analysis of MP in environmental matrices using the upcoming ISO standard and the development of a comparison of different data processing pipelines by using “sandwich filters”.
PlasticTrace participated in the Early Career Research Event, “Navigating Towards Microplastic Regulations,” held from November 11th to 14th. The event was a collaboration between the University of Bayreuth, PlasticsFatE, CUSP, and SFB Mikroplastik. Spanning two days, it featured discussions and poster sessions focused on microplastic research and policy. Dr. Ulrike Braun from PlasticTrace, delivered a talk on “The Why and How of Microplastic Standardization.”
PlasticTrace was shared with Indian colleagues during an online workshop organized by the Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council. The event featured the presentation of the first e-learning modules on analytical methods for microplastics and brought together experts and policymakers from both India and the EU.
The CUSP Final Scientific Conference will take place in Brussels, Belgium on 25-26th of February, with options for both online and in-person participation. PlasticTrace will be represented at the event and during the panel discussions by Andy Booth and Korinna Altmann.
The International Metrology Congress is taking place in March 2025 in Lyon in France. Registration will open early November 2024. PlasticTrace is invited to share project experiences for the Round Table on “New Pollutants of emerging concern”.
AGRIFOODPLAST 2025 will take place in the heart of Brussels, just steps away from the European Parliament. This arrangement will enable a substantial participation of policy makers and Commission officers in panel discussions, as well as international representatives of sector businesses (Plastic, Agriculture, Fish Farming and Fisheries). The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and European Commission delegates will contribute to the event with keynote speakers and in panel discussions including Professor Bert van Bavel from PlasticTrace.
CAFMET is hosting the 10th International Conference on Metrology in Africa from April 22 to 24, 2025, in Hammamet, Tunisia. It is a multidisciplinary conference concerning several sectors including health, environment, agrifood, pharmaceuticals, energy, transport etc.
SETAC will be taking place in May, in Vienna. Registration is now open! Early Bird Registration will close 12th of March. Register here. PlasticTrace will co-chaired by Andy Booth, with several of our partners presenting in the session of “Matching Microplastic and Nanoplastic Materials to Exposure Scenarios”, as well as be hosting a Special Side Event.
MICROPLASTICdays will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from May 25–27, 2025. Organized by a diverse group of projects, institutions, and researchers, the event will bring together experts in the field of microplastics. Visit their website for more details and to explore the preliminary program.
The project has received funding from the European Partnership on Metrology, co-financed from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme and by the Participating States.
Share This Post
We are now halfway through the project, and the impact of the research conducted by PlasticTrace is already evident. This research has been presented at several international meetings.
M18 Meeting 21GRD07 PlasticTrace05 – 06 FEBRUARY, Turin (IT) Hosted by the Italian National Institute of Metrology Research (INRiM)Strada delle Cacce, 91 -10135 Torino, ITALY
The European Metrology Network for Safe and Sustainable Food hosted a hybrid training event on micro and nano contaminants in food on 5-6 September 2023, in METAS (Bern-Wabern, Switzerland) and Online.
Round Table on Microplastics StandardizationCo-organized by CA PRIORITY and 21GRD07 PlasticTraceMay 23, 2023, Berlin (DE). Hosted by Bundesanstalt fur Materialforschung und -prufung (BAM) Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany
