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Influence of intrinsic plastics characteristics on Nile Red staining and fluorescence
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Researchers evaluated Nile Red fluorescent staining performance on 60 plastic particles from sandy beaches, finding that polymer type, weathering degree, and crystallinity did not significantly affect fluorescence intensity, but particle color did — with blue, green, and red particles showing lower fluorescence and white, yellow, and orange particles showing higher fluorescence. The findings suggest that plastic pigments interfere with Nile Red detection, complicating standardization of microplastic identification methods.
Nile Red is a lipophilic staining dye often used in the detection of microplastics in environmental samples. This work evaluated the influence of characteristics of plastic particles collected from sandy beaches (n = 60) on fluorescent emissions after Nile Red staining. Most particles presented medium to high fluorescence (81.6%). Polymer type (polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene), weathering (i.e., carbonyl index, methyl index), and crystallinity did not affect fluorescence intensity (grey value) or color (RGB values). Conversely, particle color significantly influenced fluorescence, with lower fluorescence seen for some blue, green, and red particles, and higher in some white, yellow, and orange particles, suggesting an influence of pigments used in plastics on Nile Red staining. Wide variations in fluorescence were observed for the same particle color, possibly resulting from the use of different pigments. Therefore, future studies should tackle the issue of the interference of plastic pigments in the detection and characterization of plastic particles.
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Nile Red staining for the detection of microplastics: a comprehensive study on the emission spectra
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This study systematically characterized how Nile Red fluorescence spectra vary across different polymer types, pigments, weathering states, and surface roughness, providing a more comprehensive reference for using Nile Red staining to identify microplastics in environmental samples.
Exploring Nile Red staining as an analytical tool for surface-oxidized microplastics
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Scientists evaluated Nile Red, a fluorescent dye commonly used to detect microplastics, and found it works differently depending on whether microplastics have been weathered by the environment. Surface oxidation from aging in the environment changes how well the dye sticks to plastics, which means current detection methods may be undercounting weathered microplastics in environmental samples.
The potential of fluorescent dyes—comparative study of Nile red and three derivatives for the detection of microplastics
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Researchers compared Nile red and three newly developed fluorescent dye derivatives for staining microplastics, finding that the derivatives achieved greater selectivity for plastic particles and more intense fluorescence than standard Nile red, improving detection sensitivity.
Comprehensive assessment of factors influencing Nile red staining: Eliciting solutions for efficient microplastics analysis
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Researchers conducted a comprehensive assessment of Nile red staining for microplastic analysis and found that wavelength, temperature, hydrogen peroxide treatment, NaCl addition, and plastic polymer type all significantly influence staining efficiency, proposing solutions to improve detection accuracy.
Identification and quantification of microplastics using Nile Red staining
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Researchers tested Nile Red staining as a method for identifying and quantifying microplastics in environmental samples, finding it useful for rapid screening but noting limitations in distinguishing plastics from non-plastic particles.
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