Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

On-Site Detection of Nanoplastics in Liquid Phase by SERS Method

Researchers developed an on-site detection method for nanoplastics in liquid samples using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), achieving sensitive identification without the laboratory infrastructure required by conventional GC-MS approaches. The SERS method successfully differentiated nanoplastic types in environmental water samples, offering a practical tool for rapid field-deployable nanoplastic monitoring.

2025
Article Tier 2

Superhydrophobic Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) Substrates for Sensitive Detection of Trace Nanoplastics in Water

Researchers developed a new method to detect extremely small nanoplastics in water by combining a water-repelling surface that concentrates particles with a technique called SERS that amplifies their chemical signal. The method can identify common nanoplastics like polystyrene and PMMA at very low concentrations, which is an important step toward monitoring these tiny pollutants that are difficult to detect with current tools.

2025 Analytical Chemistry 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-Self-Assembled Monolayer Enables Sensitive SERS Detection of Nanoplastics via Spontaneous Hotspot Entrapment

Researchers developed a new detection method that can identify and measure nanoplastics at concentrations as low as 0.01 micrograms per milliliter by trapping the tiny particles within a single layer of silver nanoparticles. The technique uses surface-enhanced Raman scattering, which amplifies the chemical signal of nanoplastics that are spontaneously captured in the detection hotspots. This approach offers a faster and more sensitive way to monitor nanoplastic pollution in water compared to existing methods.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Strategies and Challenges of Identifying Nanoplastics in Environment by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Researchers reviewed the use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) as a tool for detecting nanoplastics, which are plastic particles smaller than one micrometer. The study found that SERS offers high sensitivity for identifying individual nanoparticles, but significant challenges remain in applying this technique to complex environmental samples. The review outlines strategies for improving SERS-based nanoplastic detection to better assess environmental and health risks.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 170 citations
Article Tier 2

Separation and Identification of Nanoplastics via a Two-Phase System Combined with Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Researchers developed a new method for detecting nanoplastics at extremely low concentrations by combining silver nanoparticle films with a specialized light-scattering technique. The approach could identify polystyrene and PET nanoplastics at trace levels, offering a promising tool for monitoring plastic pollution that is too small for conventional detection methods.

2024 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Hydrophobicity-driven self-assembly of nanoplastics and silver nanoparticles for the detection of polystyrene microspheres using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Researchers developed a highly sensitive method for detecting nanoplastic particles using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) on a super-hydrophobic (water-repelling) surface that concentrates the particles into a small spot. The technique detected polystyrene nanoplastics at concentrations as low as 0.5 mg/L, far below what conventional approaches can achieve. Better detection tools for nanoplastics are urgently needed since these ultra-small particles are the hardest to find yet potentially the most biologically hazardous fraction of plastic pollution.

2023 Chemosphere 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of polystyrene nanoplastics using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Researchers demonstrated for the first time that surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) using silver nanoparticles can identify polystyrene nanoplastics as small as 50 nm in real water samples, providing a rapid detection method that bypasses conventional sample preparation and could advance environmental monitoring of nanoplastics previously invisible to standard analytical techniques.

2020 Talanta 207 citations
Article Tier 2

Breaking the Size Barrier: SERS-Based Ultrasensitive Detection and Quantification of Polystyrene Plastics in Real Water Samples

Researchers developed a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method capable of detecting and quantifying polystyrene plastic particles of various sizes — including nanoplastics — in real environmental water samples at ultrasensitive concentrations.

2025 Analytical Chemistry
Article Tier 2

In situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for detecting microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments

This study evaluated surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) as a method for detecting and identifying microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments, demonstrating its potential for detecting particles too small for conventional spectroscopy while noting remaining challenges for field deployment.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 333 citations
Article Tier 2

Plasmonic Coacervate as a Droplet-Based SERS Platform for Rapid Enrichment and Microanalysis of Hydrophobic Payloads

Researchers developed a coacervate microdroplet platform incorporating silver nanoparticles as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate for detecting and quantifying trace hydrophobic contaminants, including those associated with microplastics. The platform demonstrated effective enrichment and sensitive detection of hydrophobic analytes, offering a droplet-based approach for microplastic-associated pollutant analysis.

2024 Analytical Chemistry 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Trapping tiny pollutants: SERS-driven strategies for microplastics and nanoplastics detection

This review explores how surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is being developed as a highly sensitive tool for detecting and identifying micro- and nanoplastics in environmental and biological samples. Researchers highlight recent advances in sensor design, the integration of machine learning for improved accuracy, and the technique's potential for real-world monitoring. The study also identifies key challenges, including signal variability and the lack of standardized methods, that need to be resolved for broader adoption.

2025 iScience 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrating Metal Phenolic Networks-Mediated Separation and Machine Learning-Aided SERS for High-Precision Quantification and Classification of Nanoplastics

Scientists combined metal-phenolic network chemistry — which rapidly concentrates and captures nanoplastics — with machine-learning-enhanced surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to accurately identify and quantify nanoplastics at very low environmental concentrations. This integrated approach addresses one of the biggest technical obstacles in nanoplastic research: detecting particles that are too small and too sparse for conventional methods to reliably find.

2024 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid detection of nanoplastics down to 20 nm in water by surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy

Researchers developed a silver nanoparticle-based surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy method that can detect nanoplastics as small as 20 nanometers in water samples. By leveraging the natural aggregation between silver nanoparticles and plastic particles, they significantly amplified the detection signal without complex sample preparation. The technique offers a rapid and practical approach for identifying nanoplastic contamination in environmental water samples.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Highly sensitive superhydrophobic SERS substrate combined with machine learning for precise identification and classification of nanoplastics

Researchers fabricated a superhydrophobic surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate that concentrates nanoplastics in a tiny detection zone, then combined it with machine learning to identify seven types of nanoplastics in real lake water with 99.88% accuracy, offering a practical high-throughput environmental monitoring approach.

2026 Spectrochimica Acta Part A Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy
Article Tier 2

Imaging and identification of single nanoplastic particles and agglomerates

Scientists used a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique to detect and identify individual nanoplastic particles as small as 100 nanometers, a size range that has been extremely difficult to measure with existing methods. The approach can distinguish between single particles and clumps, and works significantly faster than previous imaging techniques. The study represents a meaningful advance in nanoplastic detection that could help researchers better understand the true extent of nanoplastic pollution.

2023 Scientific Reports 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Dark background–surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic detection of nanoplastics: Thermofluidic strategy

Researchers developed a thermofluidic strategy using dark-background surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for detecting nanoplastics in water, offering a cost-effective and time-efficient detection approach. The method addresses the lack of universally accepted analytical techniques for nanoplastic detection in environmental samples.

2023 Water Research 24 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of recent progress in the application of Raman spectroscopy and SERS detection of microplastics and derivatives

This review covers advances in using Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to detect and identify microplastics in the environment. These techniques offer high resolution and sensitive detection that can identify specific plastic types even at very small sizes. Better detection methods are essential for understanding the true extent of microplastic contamination and its potential risks to human health.

2023 Microchimica Acta 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Controllable preparation of mesoporous spike gold nanocrystals for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy detection of micro/nanoplastics in water

Researchers developed a novel detection method combining membrane filtration and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) using specially synthesized spiked gold nanocrystals to detect nanoplastics in water. The method can simultaneously enrich and detect nanoplastic particles as small as 20 nanometers, addressing a significant gap in reliable detection techniques for these small plastic contaminants that have been found in human blood and placenta.

2023 Environmental Research 29 citations
Article Tier 2

In situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for the detection of nanoplastics: A novel approach inspired by the aging of nanoplastics

Researchers developed a novel in-situ SERS (surface-enhanced Raman scattering) detection method for nanoplastics that exploits UV photoaging to generate silver nanoparticles directly on particle surfaces, enabling highly sensitive identification of polystyrene, PVC, and PET nanoplastics in real lake water samples at concentrations as low as 1 × 10⁻⁶ mg/mL.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Latest Advances and Developments to Detection of Micro‐ and Nanoplastics Using Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

This review examines the latest developments in using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to detect micro- and nanoplastics in various environmental samples. Researchers found that SERS offers significantly improved sensitivity compared to conventional methods, enabling detection of smaller plastic particles. The study suggests that SERS-based approaches hold promise for advancing nanoplastic detection, though challenges around standardization and reproducibility remain.

2022 Particle & Particle Systems Characterization 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Simultaneous detection of nanoplastics and adsorbed pesticides by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Researchers used Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) with silver and gold nanoparticles to simultaneously detect nanoplastic particles and pesticides adsorbed onto their surfaces at environmentally relevant concentrations. The technique successfully identified both the plastic carrier and the co-transported contaminant in a single measurement, demonstrating its utility for assessing the combined hazard of nanoplastic-pesticide complexes.

2025 NanoImpact
Article Tier 2

Microfluidics-based electrophoretic capture and Raman analysis of micro/nanoplastics

Researchers developed a microfluidics-based electrophoretic capture system combined with Raman spectroscopy analysis to detect and characterize micro- and nanoplastics from aquatic ecosystems, exploiting differences in polymer composition to improve identification accuracy.

2025 Analytica Chimica Acta
Article Tier 2

Hetero-charge-based surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy: An in situ rapid detection strategy for real marine nanoplastics

Researchers developed an in situ SERS detection method using oppositely charged gold nanoparticles to capture and identify nanoplastics directly in seawater without filtration or drying, achieving a detection limit of 0.1 µg/mL in artificial seawater and successfully identifying polystyrene in a real marine sample.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Upscaling sample size for microscopical detection of nanoplastics

Researchers developed a method to detect nanoplastic particles in a full liter of seawater — far more than the tiny droplet-sized samples typical techniques require. By combining chemical purification steps with a special membrane filter that amplifies Raman signals (SERS), they could identify individual nanoplastics down to nanometer scale. This advance matters because nanoplastics are the smallest and potentially most harmful plastic fragments, yet they have been almost impossible to detect in realistic environmental samples until now.

2023