Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

High-resolution characterization technology for micro-/nano-plastics

This review provides an overview of advanced technologies for detecting and characterizing micro- and nanoplastics, including Raman spectroscopy, infrared imaging, and mass spectrometry techniques. Researchers evaluated the capabilities and limitations of each method, particularly for identifying the smallest plastic particles that are most challenging to measure. The study emphasizes that improving detection at the nanoscale is essential for accurately assessing the environmental and health risks of plastic pollution.

2024 Journal of Physics D Applied Physics 6 citations
Review Tier 2

Analysing micro- and nanoplastics with cutting-edge infrared spectroscopy techniques: a critical review

This review evaluates cutting-edge infrared spectroscopy techniques for detecting and analyzing micro- and nanoplastics in environmental and food samples. Better detection methods are crucial for understanding human exposure because they allow scientists to measure smaller particles more accurately, including nanoplastics that are small enough to cross biological barriers and accumulate in human tissues.

2024 Analytical Methods 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Identifying Microplastics in Laboratory and Atmospheric Aerosol Mixtures via Optical Photothermal Infrared and Raman Microspectroscopy

Researchers developed optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy methods to identify microplastics in both laboratory-prepared and real atmospheric aerosol samples, demonstrating the technique's ability to distinguish plastic particles from other aerosol components in complex air quality monitoring contexts.

2025 Analytical Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Controlled Detection for Micro- and Nanoplastic Spectroscopy/Photometry Integration Using Infrared Radiation

Researchers proposed a controlled infrared spectroscopy/photometry integration system for detecting micro- and nanoplastics, using a diffraction grating controller to tune the geometry etendue of the display unit and yield a universal spectrometer/photometer capable of identifying plastic particles across size ranges.

2025 Optics
Article Tier 2

Application of High-Resolution Near-Infrared Imaging Spectroscopy to Detect Microplastic Particles in Different Environmental Compartments

Researchers enhanced a lab-based near-infrared imaging spectroscopy setup with a microscopic lens to detect microplastic particles as small as 100 micrometers across multiple environmental sample types, significantly speeding up analysis compared to traditional methods. Faster, semi-automated detection tools are essential for scaling up environmental monitoring of microplastics, which currently requires labor-intensive laboratory work.

2023 Water Air & Soil Pollution 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics in tap water by optical photothermal infrared

Researchers characterized microplastics in tap water using optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy, a technique that can identify particles smaller than 10 micrometers with high chemical specificity. The method detected a broader range of particle sizes than conventional FTIR microscopy, revealing higher microplastic concentrations in tap water than previously reported.

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

IdentifyingMicroplastics in Laboratory and AtmosphericAerosol Mixtures via Optical Photothermal Infrared and Raman Microspectroscopy

This study applied optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy to identify microplastics in atmospheric aerosol mixtures, demonstrating that the technique can distinguish plastic particles by polymer type in complex air samples relevant to understanding human inhalation exposure to airborne MPs.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Detecting small microplastics down to 1.3 μm using large area ATR-FTIR

Researchers introduced large-area ATR-FTIR spectroscopy as a new technique capable of detecting microplastics as small as 1.3 micrometers, outperforming conventional micro-FTIR for small particle detection in marine water samples.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Picogram-Level Nanoplastic Analysis with Nanoelectromechanical System Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy: NEMS-FTIR

Researchers developed a NEMS-FTIR approach combining nanoelectromechanical systems with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for chemical characterization and quantification of nanoplastics, achieving picogram-level detection limits ranging from 101 to 353 pg for polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics with diameters from 54 to 262 nm.

2025 ArXiv.org
Article Tier 2

Harmonizing infrared spectroscopic techniques for microplastic identification: a comparative evaluation of ATR and µFTIR transmission and reflection modes

Researchers systematically compared the performance of Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) and micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (muFTIR) in both transmission and reflection modes for identifying microplastics from twelve common real-world plastic products, providing guidance on optimizing spectroscopic technique selection.

2025
Article Tier 2

Chemical characterization of microplastics from biosolids: a comparison of FTIR and O-PTIR microspectroscopy

Researchers compared conventional FTIR microspectroscopy with the emerging Optical Photothermal Infrared (O-PTIR) technique for chemical characterization and polymer-type identification of microplastics extracted from biosolids, finding that O-PTIR's submicron resolution and artifact-free spectra offer advantages over traditional methods.

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

Characterization of microplastics in tap water by optical photothermal infrared

Researchers used optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy to characterize microplastics in tap water, identifying particles as small as a few micrometers that conventional FTIR techniques cannot resolve. The higher detection sensitivity revealed that microplastic concentrations in drinking water are likely underestimated by standard methods.

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

Outlook on optical identification of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic environments

Researchers studied the optical properties of micro- and nanoplastics and evaluated near-infrared spectroscopy as a detection method for plastic particles in water, finding that optical techniques show promise for rapid, non-destructive identification. Improved optical detection methods could enable faster and more cost-effective monitoring of plastic pollution in aquatic environments.

2018 Chemosphere 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection of Sub-20 μm Microplastic Particles by Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Comparison with Raman Spectroscopy

Researchers compared two spectroscopy techniques for detecting microplastic particles smaller than 20 micrometers. They found that ATR-FTIR was more sensitive for the smallest particles (6 micrometers), while Raman spectroscopy performed better with larger particles. The study also identified spectral patterns that could serve as indicators of particle size, opening new possibilities for quickly classifying microplastic populations without time-consuming imaging.

2023 ACS Omega 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of microplastics and nanoplastics in environmental water by AFM-IR

Scientists used a new technique called AFM-IR, which combines atomic force microscopy with infrared spectroscopy, to identify individual nanoplastic particles in environmental water for the first time. This method can detect particles as small as 100 nanometers, far beyond the limits of traditional microscopy. They found several types of nanoplastics in a water sample, including an epoxy and a biodegradable plastic, demonstrating that this tool could improve our ability to track nanoplastic pollution.

2025 Analytica Chimica Acta 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Standardization of micro-FTIR methods and applicability for the detection and identification of microplastics in environmental matrices

Researchers worked to standardize micro-FTIR spectroscopy methods for detecting and identifying microplastics as small as 20 micrometers across different environmental samples. They tested reflection and transmission modes against known polymer standards and validated the approach on real-world water, sediment, and biological samples. The study provides a reproducible methodology that could help make microplastic measurements more consistent and comparable across laboratories.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 131 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of Microplastics Using a Custom Built Micro-Raman Spectrometer

Researchers built a custom micro-Raman spectrometer and demonstrated its use for identifying microplastic polymer types in environmental samples, achieving sensitive and specific polymer identification at particle sizes down to a few micrometers.

2023 Journal of Physics Conference Series 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced analytical techniques for microplastics in the environment: a review

Researchers reviewed the most advanced laboratory tools for detecting and identifying microplastics in environmental samples — including infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and pyrolysis gas chromatography — summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of each technique to help researchers choose the right method for accurate microplastic analysis.

2023 Bulletin of the National Research Centre/Bulletin of the National Research Center 56 citations
Article Tier 2

A novel method for purification, quantitative analysis and characterization of microplastic fibers using Micro-FTIR

Researchers developed an improved method for purifying, quantifying, and characterizing microplastic fibers using micro-FTIR spectroscopy, addressing the challenge that fibers are harder to process and identify than other microplastic shapes. The method improvements enable more accurate characterization of this common but technically challenging category of environmental microplastics.

2019 Chemosphere 191 citations
Article Tier 2

Possibilities and Limitations of AFM-IR to Detect Nanoplastic Particles in the Atmosphere

Researchers evaluated the capabilities and limitations of AFM-IR spectroscopy for detecting nanoplastic particles in atmospheric samples. They found that while the technique can identify individual nanoplastic particles, significant challenges remain in quantifying atmospheric nanoplastic concentrations due to detection limits and sample preparation complexity. The study highlights the need for improved analytical methods to assess human inhalation exposure to nanoplastics.

2026 Environmental Science Nano
Article Tier 2

Advanced Optical Imaging Technologies for Microplastics Identification: Progress and Challenges

This review surveys advanced optical imaging technologies used to identify microplastics and nanoplastics in environmental samples. Researchers compared techniques like Raman spectroscopy, infrared imaging, and fluorescence microscopy, noting their strengths and limitations for detecting increasingly small particles. The study highlights that improving detection methods is essential for accurately monitoring the full scope of plastic pollution.

2024 Advanced Photonics Research 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of microplastics by FTIR and Raman microscopy: a novel silicon filter substrate opens the important spectral range below 1300 cm−1 for FTIR transmission measurements

Researchers developed a new approach using silicon filters compatible with both FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy to identify microplastics in environmental samples. The silicon filter substrate allows transmission-mode IR imaging across the entire sample without manual pre-sorting, improving efficiency and reducing contamination risk.

2015 Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 322 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of a multi-spectroscopy method coupling μ-FTIR and μ-Raman analysis for one-stop detection of microplastics in environmental and biological samples

Scientists developed a new method that combines two types of microscopic analysis (infrared and Raman spectroscopy) on a single sample to detect microplastics more accurately and efficiently. By using barium fluoride as a substrate instead of standard filter membranes, they could identify microplastics as small as 10 micrometers in environmental and biological samples. Better detection methods like this are crucial for understanding how much microplastic contamination exists in our environment and food.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Measurement of tyre-based microplastics using traditional and quantum cascade laser-based infrared spectrometry

Micro-transflectance infrared spectroscopy was demonstrated as a method to characterize tyre-based microplastics down to 20 µm, with traditional attenuated total reflectance suitable for larger particles, providing new analytical pathways for monitoring this important emerging contaminant.

2024 Spectrochimica Acta Part A Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy 8 citations