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Fiber laser-backscattered optofluidic sensor for ultrasensitive and wide-range nanoplastic quantification
Summary
Scientists have developed a highly sensitive laser-based sensor that can detect tiny plastic particles (as small as 20 nanometers—much smaller than a virus) in water, even at very low concentrations. This matters because nanoplastics are increasingly showing up in our water, food, and even our bodies, but until now they've been hard to detect and measure accurately. This new tool could enable on-site, real-time monitoring of nanoplastic pollution, helping researchers and regulators better understand and address potential health risks from plastic contamination in our environment.
We report a fiber laser-backscattered optofluidic sensor (FLOS) for label-free, non-destructive quantification of nanoplastics (NPLs) from 20 nm to 1000 nm. A Mie-regime detection model reveals optimal sensitivity at 200 nm due to constructive interference of backward scattering modes. The sensor integrates a high-NA fiber probe (NA = 0.37) with a fiber-embedded optofluidic chip, achieving a limit of detection of 0.021 µg/mL for 200 nm polystyrene NPLs. The broad applicability to the other five polymer types and operational robustness in natural water matrices are demonstrated, establishing a platform for on-site NPLs monitoring.