NEW: PlastiTrax® ISO 16094-2:2025 Kit and Extended Kit
| Method Validation |
The PlastiTrax® ISO 16094-2:2025 Kits are specifically designed to support standard-compliant method validation in accordance with ISO 16094-2:2025 for microplastic analysis.
The ISO Kit focuses on the verification of microplastic recovery rates (Section 10.6), providing defined polymer compositions, size fractions, and precisely determined particle numbers. This enables laboratories to quantitatively assess recovery across the entire analytical workflow, including sample preparation, transfer, and detection.
The ISO Extended Kit further expands validation capabilities by addressing additional key requirements of the standard. It includes materials for the verification of microplastic identification and classification at claimed particle sizes (Section 10.3) as well as for the determination of the minimal Hit Quality Index (HQI) for automated identification (Section 10.4). By incorporating multi-polymer and environmentally relevant (aged) particles, the kit allows realistic evaluation of identification performance and spectral matching criteria.
Together, the kits enable laboratories to validate recovery, identification accuracy, and automated classification thresholds, ensuring robust, reproducible, and ISO-compliant microplastic analysis workflows.
Why PlastiTrax is aligned with ISO 16094-2:2025
| Particle count |
ISO 16094-2:2025 requires that the number characterization of particles in spiking solutions used for recovery determination is performed using an independent analytical technique (e.g. µFTIR, µRaman, SEM, optical counting, or flow cytometry).
✅ PlastiTrax® reference materials directly address this requirement. All tablets are pre-characterized using spectroscopic imaging techniques (e.g. µFTIR), and the exact particle number per polymer type is determined and documented prior to use (found on the label of each individual tablet).
With our PlastiTrax® kits, the following key requirements of the ISO guideline can be systematically covered:
| 10.6 Verification of microplastics recovery rate |
The ISO guideline requires the verification of the entire analytical workflow, including sample preparation and filtration, using at least two different polymer types. Known quantities of microplastics must be introduced into clean water samples (6.2 ultrapure water; filtered <1µm), covering relevant polymer types, sizes, and concentration ranges.
Recovery is then determined through replicate measurements (3x2 repetitions) under intermediate precision conditions, ideally at multiple concentration levels.
A minimum recovery rate of 60% must be achieved across the full claimed analytical range, above 120% a cause analysis shall be performed.
✅ISO 16094-2 Kit
✅ISO 16094-2 Extended Kit
Our Kits contain the following PlastiTrax® Tablets for recovery verification down to 20 µm particle size:
PlastiTrax® Basic PP, PS: Particle Size: 20-25 µm; Particle count: 25-75 MPs
PlastiTrax® Basic PP, PS: Particle Size: 25-50 µm; Particle count: 25-75 MPs
PlastiTrax® Basic PP, PS: Particle Size: 50-100 µm; Particle count: 25-75 MPs
PlastiTrax® Basic PP, PS: Particle Size: 20-25 µm; Particle count: 150-200 MPs
PlastiTrax® Basic PP, PS: Particle Size: 25-50 µm; Particle count: 150-200 MPs
PlastiTrax® Basic PP, PS: Particle Size: 50-100 µm; Particle count: 150-200 MPs
| 10.4 Suitability for HQI determiation for automated identification |
ISO 16094-2:2025 requires laboratories to determine and validate an appropriate HQI threshold for automated microplastic identification, ensuring reliable differentiation between correct and incorrect classifications. This involves analysing samples with known polymer composition and comparing automated results with manual expert evaluation.
PlastiTrax® reference materials are ideally suited for this purpose, as they provide fully characterized particles with known polymer identity and precisely defined composition. This enables laboratories to systematically evaluate spectral matching performance, adjust HQI thresholds, and quantify false-positive and false-negative rates under controlled conditions.
❌ISO 16094-2 Kit
✅ISO 16094-2 Extended Kit
Our ISO 16094-2 Extended Kit contains the following Plastitrax® tablets for HQI determination down to 20 µm:
PlastiTrax® Priority Complete: Particle Size: 20-25 µm: Particle count: 50-150 MPs
PlastiTrax® Priority Complete: Particle Size: 25-50 µm: Particle count: 50-150 MPs
PlastiTrax® Priority Complete: Particle Size: 50-100 µm: Particle count: 50-150 MPs
| 10.3 Suitability for identification and classification at claimed size |
ISO 16094-2:2025 requires laboratories to demonstrate their ability to correctly identify multiple polymer types at the lower size limit claimed by the method, based on reliable spectral acquisition and classification.
PlastiTrax® reference materials are specifically designed to support this requirement. They provide well-defined size fractions, including small particle ranges, combined with fully characterized polymer identities. This allows laboratories to systematically verify their capability to acquire high-quality spectra and accurately identify polymers at challenging size limits.
In addition, PlastiTrax® Simulated Aging materials, containing UV-aged polymers (PE, PP, PS, PVC, PET), can be used to approximate naturally weathered microplastics, which often exhibit altered spectral characteristics. While not fully equivalent to naturally aged samples, they provide a controlled and reproducible approach to evaluate identification performance under more realistic conditions. In addition, it can be used for extending the spectral database.
❌ISO 16094-2 Kit
✅ISO 16094-2 Extended Kit
Our ISO 16094-2 Extended Kit contains the following Plastitrax® tablets for identification and classification down to 20 µm:
PlastiTrax® Priority Complete: Particle Size: 20-25 µm: Particle count: 50-150 MPs
PlastiTrax® Simulated Aging: Particle Size: 25-50 µm: Particle count: 50-150 MPs
