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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.
Abstract Several research groups have explored Nile Red staining of artificial and natural environmental samples to provide an inexpensive and relatively fast analysis tool for identifying microplastics. Yet, most of these studies were based on a limited set of polymer samples, and primarily base polymers were investigated, i.e., uncolored and non-weathered polymers. Hence, the influence of pigments, weathering or erosion on the luminescence of stained microplastics is not yet well understood. To fill this gap, we performed photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy on a variety of Nile Red-stained plastics and non-plastic samples. The investigated sample set includes commercially available plastic samples to investigate how additives and pigments in the polymer material impact the PL spectra via their auto-fluorescence. Besides, we study the influence of surface roughness on the emitted PL. Finally, we examined 20 microparticles collected from the Lahn River using PL spectroscopy to cross-validate our observations.
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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.
Analyzing microplastics with Nile Red: Emerging trends, challenges, and prospects
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This review evaluates the Nile Red staining technique as an analytical method for identifying and quantifying microplastics in environmental samples. The study concludes that while Nile Red has emerged as a viable low-cost alternative to visual identification for microplastics research, not everything that fluoresces is plastic, so additional spectroscopic analysis is needed to validate results.
Analysis of selective fluorescence for the characterization of microplastic fibers: Use of a Nile Red-based analytical method to compare between natural and synthetic fibers
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Researchers developed a Nile Red fluorescence method to distinguish natural from synthetic microplastic fibers, demonstrating that selective fluorescence staining combined with spectral analysis can improve identification accuracy for fiber-type microplastics across different environments.
Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy
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Researchers developed an improved method for characterizing microplastics using Nile Red fluorescent staining combined with fluorescence spectroscopy. They found that different plastic polymers produce distinct fluorescent signatures when stained, enabling more reliable identification of plastic types. The technique offers a faster and more affordable alternative to traditional microplastic detection methods, which could help scale up environmental monitoring efforts.
Optimization of sample preparation, fluorescence- and Raman techniques for environmental microplastics
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Researchers optimized methods for preparing and analyzing environmental microplastic samples using fluorescence staining with Nile Red dye and Raman spectroscopy. The study found that while fluorescence can broadly categorize plastics as polar or non-polar, Raman spectroscopy with a deep-UV laser was needed to reliably identify all polymer types, including those pigmented with carbon black.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.