Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Cortex-Wide, Cellular-Resolution Volumetric Imaging with a Modular Two-Photon Imaging Platform

This paper presents Meso2P, a new two-photon microscope capable of imaging the entire mouse cortex at single-cell resolution — a significant advance in neuroscience instrumentation. Among its demonstrated applications is the ability to track the distribution of micro- and nanoplastic particles in living brain tissue in real time. While primarily a neuroscience tool, its capacity to visualize nanoplastics in the brain non-invasively could become valuable for directly studying how plastic particles move through and accumulate in neural tissue.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Fluorescence radial fluctuation enables two-photon super-resolution microscopy

Researchers applied super-resolution radial fluctuation analysis to two-photon microscopy to achieve high-resolution imaging deep within brain tissue. The technique achieved spatial resolution comparable to structured illumination microscopy at depths of several hundred micrometers and enabled the first in vivo super-resolution imaging of the fifth layer of the cerebral cortex, offering an accessible upgrade for existing two-photon microscope systems.

2023 Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 9 citations
Commentary Tier 3

Editorial: 15 years of Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience: super-resolution microscopy in the healthy and the injured brain

This editorial introduces a research collection on super-resolution microscopy techniques applied to the healthy and injured brain, highlighting how methods that surpass the diffraction limit of classical fluorescence microscopy are revealing new insights into synaptic organization and cellular pathology. The collection covers advances in both imaging hardware and computational image analysis relevant to neuroscience research.

2024 Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
Article Tier 2

In vivo super-resolution of the brain – How to visualize the hidden nanoplasticity?

Researchers reviewed how super-resolution fluorescence microscopy techniques — which allow scientists to image structures smaller than what conventional light microscopes can resolve — are being used to study the nanoscale structure and plasticity of brain synapses in living mice. These imaging advances help reveal how tiny changes in brain connections relate to learning and memory, using "nanoplasticity" in its neurological sense rather than as a reference to plastic pollution.

2022 iScience 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Mueller-Gabor holographic microscopy

Researchers introduced a Mueller-Gabor holographic microscopy method that leverages in-line Gabor holography for volumetric polarization information extraction. The study presents a novel imaging approach for comprehensively characterizing samples, with potential applications in identifying and analyzing microscopic particles including microplastics.

2024 Optics and Lasers in Engineering 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Signal Improved ultra-Fast Light-sheet Microscope (SIFT) for large tissue imaging

Researchers developed Signal Improved ultra-Fast Light-sheet Microscope (SIFT) using two fixed distant light-sheet foci to enable axially swept light-sheet microscopy (ASLM) at 40 frames per second across a full field of view, achieving four-fold speed improvement over current state-of-the-art for large cleared tissue imaging.

2023 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Imaging dendritic spines in the hippocampus of a living mouse by 3D-STED microscopy

Researchers extended 3D STED super-resolution microscopy to image dendritic spines in the hippocampus of living mice, achieving nanoscale resolution in three dimensions within deep brain tissue and opening new possibilities for studying synaptic structures in vivo.

2023
Article Tier 2

Imaging dendritic spines in the hippocampus of a living mouse by 3D-stimulated emission depletion microscopy

This paper is not about microplastics; it presents an in vivo 3D super-resolution microscopy methodology for imaging dendritic spines in the mouse hippocampus.

2023 Neurophotonics 9 citations
Article Tier 2

3D differential interference contrast microscopy using polarisation‐sensitive tomographic diffraction microscopy

Researchers developed a 3D differential interference contrast microscopy technique using tomographic diffraction microscopy to image unlabeled biological and environmental samples at high resolution — with applications for visualizing microplastics in cells and tissues.

2022 Journal of Microscopy 6 citations
Article Tier 2

One-shot detection of light ellipticity using a two-dimensional quantum material device

Researchers developed a single-device approach to detect light ellipticity in one shot using a two-dimensional quantum material optoelectronic device, overcoming the inherent coupling between light intensity and polarization state that limits conventional sensors. The device enables rapid, simplified ellipticity measurement relevant to target imaging and recognition in complex optical environments.

2025 Applied Physics Letters
Article Tier 2

Whole-Tissue Distribution Analysis for Visualization of Nanoplastics in the Mouse Brain

Researchers used whole-tissue clearing combined with fluorescence microscopy to visualize the three-dimensional distribution of nanoplastics throughout intact mouse brains without sectioning. This approach revealed nanoplastic accumulation patterns across brain regions that section-based imaging would have missed, demonstrating a valuable method for mapping nanoplastic biodistribution in structurally complex organs.

2025
Article Tier 2

Scalable trapping of single nanosized extracellular vesicles using plasmonics

Researchers developed a plasmonic nanotweezers system capable of stably trapping individual nanosized extracellular vesicles, overcoming the diffraction limit of conventional optical tweezers and enabling characterization of heterogeneous nanoparticle populations relevant to disease diagnostics.

2023 arXiv (Cornell University) 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Uncovering Hidden Dynamics of Natural Photonic Structures Using Holographic Imaging

Researchers used holography and optics to reveal hidden nanoscale dynamics in natural photonic structures — biological surfaces that manipulate light through intricate nano-architectures. These optical techniques could be adapted for characterizing the fine structure of microplastic particles.

2022 Journal of Visualized Experiments 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Signal Improved ultra-Fast Light-sheet Microscope (SIFT) for large tissue imaging

Researchers developed an improved light-sheet microscopy system that can image large tissue samples faster while maintaining high resolution. Advanced imaging tools like this are being adapted to detect and characterize microplastic particles lodged in biological tissues, which is important for assessing health impacts.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

In Situ Identification and Spatial Mapping of Microplastic Standards in Paramecia by Secondary-Ion Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Researchers used secondary-ion mass spectrometry imaging to identify and spatially map microplastic particles inside paramecia, demonstrating that the technique can localize specific polymer types within unicellular organisms at subcellular resolution, offering a new tool for studying how microplastics interact with cell structures.

2021 Analytical Chemistry 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Morphological profiling by high-throughput single-cell biophysical fractometry

Researchers developed a high-speed imaging technique called single-cell biophysical fractometry that measures the complex, irregular geometry of individual cells at a rate of about 10,000 cells per second. This tool can detect subtle structural differences between cancer cell subtypes and track how cells respond to drugs, offering a more detailed picture of cell health than standard methods.

2023 Communications Biology 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Correlative spectroscopy and microscopy analysis of micro- and nanoplastics in complex biological matrices

Researchers combined fluorescence, second harmonic generation, and coherent Raman scattering microscopy in a single instrument to image micro- and nanoplastics in lung cells, zebrafish, and mouse tissues. Polystyrene nanoplastics crossed the blood-brain barrier and accumulated in lipid-rich brain regions in mouse models.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Scalable trapping of single nanosized extracellular vesicles using plasmonics

Researchers developed a new trapping system called geometry-induced electrohydrodynamic tweezers (GET) that can quickly capture individual nanoscale extracellular vesicles — tiny particles released by cells that carry biological signals — using electric fields and light-based plasmonic traps, completing captures in seconds rather than tens of minutes. Beyond medical diagnostics, the technology shows promise for characterizing nanoplastics at the single-particle level.

2023 Nature Communications 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Single-Particle Resolution Fluorescence Microscopy of Nanoplastics

Researchers developed a super-resolution fluorescence microscopy technique that enables single-particle detection and precise localization of nanoplastics in biological tissues and environmental samples. This advancement addresses a major limitation in nanoplastic research, as conventional microscopy lacks the resolution to distinguish individual nanoplastics from background fluorescence or free dye.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Fluorescence Imaging-Activated Microfluidic Particle Sorting Using Optical Tweezers

This study developed a fluorescence imaging-activated microfluidic sorting system using optical tweezers to precisely isolate microscopic particles based on their fluorescent signal, enabling high-throughput separation of microplastics from complex environmental or biological samples.

2025 Biosensors 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Optical parameter sensing: sensitivity limits and the advantages of using spatial modes of light

This study explored how spatial light modes can improve precision and sensitivity in optical measurement systems beyond the limits of conventional techniques. Advanced optical sensing methods including those using spatial light modes are being applied to improve microplastic detection at very small particle sizes.

2023
Article Tier 2

Label-FreeQuantification of Nanoplastic–CellMembrane Interaction by Single Cell Deformation Plasmonic Imaging

Researchers developed a label-free quantitative method called Single Cell Deformation Plasmonic Imaging to study nanoplastic interactions with cell membranes, enabling precise measurement of how nanoplastic particles disrupt cellular functions at the membrane level.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Rapid trapping and label-free optical characterization of single nanoscale extracellular vesicles and nanoparticles in solution

Researchers developed Interferometric Electrohydrodynamic Tweezers, an integrated optofluidic platform combining rapid electrohydrodynamic trapping with interferometric scattering and Raman spectroscopy, enabling single nanoparticle characterization of size and chemical composition within seconds — demonstrated on polymer beads and extracellular vesicles.

2026 Light Science & Applications
Article Tier 2

High-resolution, broad-spectral-range Raman measurement using a spatial heterodyne spectrometer with separate filters and multi-gratings

Researchers developed a spatial heterodyne Raman spectrometer with separate filters and multiple gratings that achieves high spectral resolution over a broad range in a single measurement, and demonstrated it can identify microplastics even in the presence of fluorescence interference. Better analytical tools like this are critical for accurately characterizing the types and quantities of microplastics in environmental samples.

2024 Optics Express 3 citations