Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Highly efficient Nile red staining for the rapid quantification of microplastic number concentrations using flow cytometry

Scientists developed an improved method for staining microplastics with a fluorescent dye (Nile red) that embeds the dye inside the plastic particles rather than just coating the surface, resulting in much brighter and more reliable detection. Combined with high-speed flow cytometry, the technique can rapidly count microplastic particles smaller than 10 µm in environmental water samples with recovery rates above 99%. Faster and more accurate counting methods like this are important for scaling up microplastic monitoring across many water sources.

2025 Analytical Methods 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid detection of nanoplastics and small microplastics by Nile-Red staining and flow cytometry

Researchers developed a rapid method for detecting nanoplastics and small microplastics by combining Nile-Red fluorescent staining with flow cytometry. The technique can quantify plastic particles in the 0.6 to 15 micrometer range in just 90 seconds, which is hundreds of times faster than conventional spectroscopic methods. The approach showed high detection efficiency for polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, and polystyrene, offering a practical tool for environmental nanoplastic monitoring.

2022 Environmental Chemistry Letters 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Imaging Flow Cytometry Protocols for Examining Phagocytosis of Microplastics and Bioparticles by Immune Cells of Aquatic Animals

Imaging flow cytometry was adapted to study how aquatic animal cells take up microplastic particles, enabling detailed, high-throughput analysis of cellular responses to plastic ingestion. This method could help researchers better understand how microplastics harm marine and freshwater organisms at the cellular level.

2020 Frontiers in Immunology 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Separation and flow cytometry analysis of microplastics and nanoplastics

Researchers improved a flow cytometry method for counting and separating microplastics and nanoplastics stained with a fluorescent dye called Nile Red. By adjusting the chemical solution used in detection, they reduced particle clumping and improved measurement accuracy for plastic particles across a range of sizes. The refined technique offers a faster and more reliable way to quantify plastic pollution in environmental and biological samples.

2023 Frontiers in Chemistry 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Flow Cytometry as a Rapid Alternative to Quantify Small Microplastics in Environmental Water Samples

Researchers developed a flow cytometry method using fluorescent staining to rapidly detect and quantify small microplastics (1-50 micrometers) in environmental water samples, achieving over 80% recovery rates and significantly reducing analysis time compared to traditional microscopy.

2022 Water 38 citations
Article Tier 2

A rapid-screening approach to detect and quantify microplastics based on fluorescent tagging with Nile Red

Researchers developed a rapid fluorescent screening method using Nile Red dye to detect and quantify microplastics in environmental samples, finding it significantly faster than conventional methods while maintaining reasonable accuracy.

2017 Scientific Reports 897 citations
Article Tier 2

Preliminary Results From Detection of Microplastics in Liquid Samples Using Flow Cytometry

Researchers developed a novel flow cytometry approach for in-situ detection and quantification of microplastics in liquid samples using fluorescent staining, testing nine polymer types under controlled laboratory conditions. The method offers a high-throughput alternative to traditional time-consuming microplastic detection protocols that risk sample contamination.

2020 Frontiers in Marine Science 93 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastics using microfluidic approach

Researchers developed a microfluidic chip-based method using Nile red fluorescent staining to detect and count microplastic particles, offering a faster and less expensive alternative to conventional microscopy and spectroscopy approaches for environmental monitoring.

2022 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Flow cytometry as new promising detection tool for micro and submicron plastic particles

Researchers evaluated flow cytometry as a detection tool for micro- and nanoplastics, testing its ability to rapidly identify and count plastic particles in environmental and biological samples. Results demonstrated that flow cytometry offers a promising high-throughput approach for microplastic detection compared to more time-intensive conventional methods.

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

Modification of fluorescence staining method for small-sized microplastic quantification: Focus on the interference exclusion and exposure time optimization

Researchers optimized a Nile Red/DAPI fluorescence co-staining method for quantifying small microplastics, identifying key interference factors and exposure time parameters that significantly improve accuracy of microplastic detection.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Novel methodology for identification and quantification of microplastics in biological samples

Researchers validated a protocol for identifying and quantifying polyethylene microplastics in biological samples, finding that membrane filtration caused particle retention problems and that flow cytometry offered a more reliable alternative for analysis of biological digests.

2021 Environmental Pollution 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Flow cytometry as new promising detection tool for micro and submicron plastic particles

Researchers evaluated flow cytometry as a tool for detecting and counting micro- and submicron plastic particles in environmental and biological samples. The method offered rapid throughput and the ability to distinguish plastic particles from biological material, but required careful optimization for complex matrices.

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

A novel high-throughput analytical method to quantify microplastics in water by flow cytometry

Researchers developed a faster, high-throughput method using flow cytometry — a technology that rapidly counts and characterizes particles in liquid — to measure microplastics in water, achieving about 97% accuracy across multiple plastic types and sizes and offering a practical alternative to slow, labor-intensive microscopy-based counting.

2023 Green Analytical Chemistry 19 citations
Article Tier 2

New Methods for the Quantification of Ingested Nano- and Ultrafine Plastics in Seabirds.

This study developed flow cytometry as a method to detect and quantify very small plastic particles (under 70 micrometers) in the feces of seabirds, addressing a major gap in detecting nano- and ultrafine plastics that standard techniques miss. Testing on two Australian shearwater species showed the method could detect particles far smaller than previously measurable, suggesting that seabirds ingest far more plastic by particle count than previously recognized.

2023 Environmental science & technology
Article Tier 2

Nile Red staining for detecting microplastics in biota: Preliminary evidence

Nile Red fluorescent staining was tested for identifying microplastics in biological tissue samples, finding that it successfully highlighted plastic particles in fish guts and bivalve tissues with minimal interference from digested organic residues, supporting its use as a quick screening tool before confirmatory spectroscopy.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid detection and quantification of Nile Red-stained microplastic particles in sediment samples

Researchers developed a Nile Red staining method combined with automated fluorescence microscopy to rapidly detect and quantify microplastics in deep-sea sediment samples. The method significantly reduced analysis time compared to manual identification while maintaining accuracy, enabling higher-throughput monitoring of microplastic contamination in marine sediments.

2025 PeerJ 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification and quantification of microplastics using Nile Red staining

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.

2016 Marine Pollution Bulletin 579 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid and Efficient Method for the Detection of Microplastic in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Fishes

Researchers developed a rapid and efficient method for detecting microplastics in the gastrointestinal tracts of aquatic organisms, using an accelerated digestion approach that reduces processing time compared to existing protocols while minimising sample loss and contamination.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology 161 citations
Article Tier 2

Nile red staining for rapid screening of plastic-suspect particles in edible seafood tissues

Researchers developed a faster method for detecting microplastics in seafood using a fluorescent dye called Nile red, which makes plastic particles glow under special light. The technique correctly identified about 72% of suspected plastic particles in fish and shrimp samples, making it useful for large-scale screening. Faster detection methods like this are important for monitoring how much microplastic contamination is present in the seafood people eat.

2024 Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Sampling, Isolating and Identifying Microplastics Ingested by Fish and Invertebrates *

This methodological review critically evaluated sampling, isolation, and identification techniques for microplastics ingested by fish and invertebrates, identifying common sources of error including contamination during processing, particle loss, and misidentification — and recommending standardized protocols.

2020 85 citations