Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastics in seawater: a study of pretreatment, separation, and recovery.

Researchers developed and compared pretreatment, separation, and recovery methods for isolating microplastics from seawater samples, addressing the methodological diversity that limits comparability across marine monitoring studies. The study identified optimal combinations of techniques that improve microplastic recovery efficiency while minimizing contamination and sample loss.

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

Efficacy of Microplastic Separation Techniques on Seawater Samples: Testing Accuracy Using High-Density Polyethylene

Scientists tested four common methods for separating microplastics from seawater samples and found that each method recovered different amounts and types of particles. Standardizing separation methods is critical for making microplastic concentration data comparable across different studies.

2021 Biological Bulletin 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of pre-treatment methods and heavy density liquids to optimize microplastic extraction from natural marine sediments

Researchers compared multiple pre-treatment methods and density separation liquids for extracting microplastics from marine sediments, identifying optimised protocols that improved recovery rates and reduced contamination, supporting the development of more standardised monitoring approaches.

2022 Scientific Reports 39 citations
Review Tier 2

Recovering microplastics from marine samples: A review of current practices

This review compared the published methods for separating and identifying microplastics from seawater, sediment, and marine organisms, assessing their efficiency, processing time, and potential to damage particles. It highlights the lack of standardized protocols as a major barrier to comparing results across studies.

2017 Marine Pollution Bulletin 254 citations
Article Tier 2

Optimized ExtractionMethods for Pristine and AgedMicroplastics from Complex Water Samples

Researchers optimized extraction protocols for recovering both pristine and UV-aged microplastics from complex water matrices including seawater, wastewater, and drinking water, finding that aged MPs require different treatment conditions than pristine particles to achieve reliable recovery.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Comparative study of three sampling methods for microplastics analysis in seawater

Researchers compared three microplastic sampling methods for seawater — direct 0.45 µm filtration, 20 µm pre-concentration followed by 0.45 µm filtration, and Manta trawl with 150 µm mesh — finding orders-of-magnitude differences in reported abundance across methods, underscoring the critical need for standardized protocols.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 111 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of microplastic isolation and extraction procedures from marine sediments

Researchers compared five methods for extracting microplastics (40-710 μm) from marine sediments by spiking known MP quantities into sediment matrices and measuring percent recovery across extraction approaches. Results showed that sediment matrix composition, MP properties including size and polymer type, and extraction method all significantly influenced recovery efficiency, underscoring the need for standardized extraction protocols to enable cross-study comparisons.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Pre-treatment Process for Seawater Desalination

Researchers examined the effects of microplastics on pre-treatment processes used in seawater desalination, investigating how microplastic contamination interferes with filtration and other preparatory steps essential to producing potable water from seawater.

2025 National University of Singapore
Article Tier 2

Validation of Sample Preparation Methods for Microplastic Analysis in Wastewater Matrices—Reproducibility and Standardization

Sample preparation methods for microplastic analysis in wastewater were validated against reference standards to assess recovery rates and reproducibility. The validation study identified methods that reliably extract microplastics from complex wastewater matrices, supporting more consistent environmental monitoring of microplastic discharge from treatment plants.

2020 Water 180 citations
Article Tier 2

An optimized density-based approach for extracting microplastics from soil and sediment samples

Researchers optimized a density-based extraction method for isolating microplastics from soil and sediment samples, testing different density solutions and separation steps to maximize recovery efficiency. The improved protocol reduces contamination risks and particle loss, enabling more accurate quantification of microplastics in terrestrial and freshwater sediment matrices.

2019 Environmental Pollution 215 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparision protocols for extraction of microplastics in water samples

Researchers compared four different extraction protocols for isolating microplastics from water samples and found significant differences in efficiency and accuracy across methods. Standardized extraction protocols are critical for producing comparable microplastic abundance data across studies. Without consistent methodology, it is difficult to build a reliable global picture of microplastic contamination levels in water.

2023 Vietnam Journal of Marine Science and Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of cost-effective methodologies to identify and quantify microplastics in seawater samples

Researchers developed low-cost, practical methods for detecting and quantifying microplastics in seawater samples, addressing the lack of standardized protocols. Consistent, affordable detection methods are essential for expanding global microplastic monitoring and enabling meaningful comparisons across different regions and studies.

2020 Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Extraction of microplastics from sediment matrices: Experimental comparative analysis

Extraction efficiencies of four methods for separating microplastics from sediment matrices were experimentally compared using spiked samples, finding that density separation with saturated NaCl was adequate for most polymer types but underperformed for high-density polymers, and that no single method achieved complete recovery across all particle sizes and shapes.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Validation of microplastic sample preparation method for freshwater samples

Researchers developed and validated a standardized sample preparation method for extracting microplastics from freshwater samples, testing enzymatic digestion and density separation steps to improve recovery rates and reduce measurement uncertainty across different particle types.

2021 Water Research 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Isolation of microplastics in biota-rich seawater samples and marine organisms

Researchers developed and tested methods for extracting microplastics from seawater samples rich in biological material and from the tissues of marine organisms. They found that enzymatic digestion was the most effective and least destructive approach for isolating microplastics from biological samples, outperforming acid and alkaline treatments. The study provides improved laboratory protocols that will help scientists more accurately measure microplastic contamination in marine environments and wildlife.

2014 Scientific Reports 1035 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of Different Procedures for Separating Microplastics from Sediments

Researchers compared three different methodologies for separating dense microplastics from fine sediments, finding significant differences in recovery rates and identifying contamination risks during the separation procedures.

2021 Water 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in marine environment: reworking and optimisation of two analytical protocols for the extraction of microplastics from sediments and oysters

Researchers improved existing protocols for extracting microplastics from both marine sediments and oysters, making the NOAA protocol more versatile and extending it to PET extraction. Validated extraction methods are essential for producing consistent, comparable data on microplastic contamination in seafood.

2020 MethodsX 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Galway Bay: A comparison of sampling and separation methods

Researchers compared multiple sampling and separation methods for measuring microplastics in benthic sediments in Galway Bay, Ireland, finding significant variation in recovery efficiency between approaches and highlighting the need for standardized methods to enable comparable data across studies.

2018 Marine Pollution Bulletin 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Critical comparison of rapid methods for the extraction of microplastics from wastewater and investigation of a facile alternative

Researchers critically compared rapid extraction methods for microplastics from wastewater samples and investigated a facile alternative approach, evaluating how well established protocols perform on environmental samples relative to their original optimization conditions.

2025 Chemosphere
Article Tier 2

Improved separation and quantification method for microplastic analysis in sediment: A fine-grained matrix from Arctic Greenland

Researchers developed an improved method for extracting microplastics from fine-grained Arctic sediments that reduces particle loss by cutting out intermediate processing steps, achieving over 90% recovery for particles larger than 100 micrometers. This is important because smaller microplastic particles are particularly easy to lose during analysis, and better methods mean we get more accurate data on how much plastic pollution is actually present in remote environments like Greenland.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Novel Efficient Method to Continuously Collect Microplastics from Seawater via a Two-Phase System

Scientists developed a two-phase liquid extraction method that collects microplastics from flowing seawater continuously and at multiple depths with an average recovery rate of nearly 96%. The method was successfully tested in a real bay environment and offers a practical tool for monitoring microplastic pollution at sea.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Methods for sampling, processing, identification,and quantification of microplastics in the marine environment

This paper reviews and compares the various methods used to collect, process, identify, and quantify microplastics across different environmental samples. It highlights the lack of standardized protocols as a major obstacle to comparing results across studies and calls for methodological harmonization.

2020 Oceanography in Japan 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of chemical pretreatments on microplastic extraction in sewage sludge and their physicochemical characteristics

This study evaluated different chemical pretreatment methods for extracting microplastics from sewage sludge, finding that some treatments can alter the physical and chemical properties of plastic particles in ways that affect identification. Choosing the right extraction method is important for accurately characterizing microplastic contamination in biosolids.

2019 Water Research 166 citations
Article Tier 2

Filter-less separation technique for micronized anthropogenic polymers from artificial seawater

Researchers developed a filter-less method to separate anthropogenic polymer particles from artificial test media, improving the accuracy of laboratory studies on microplastic behavior and toxicity. Cleaner separation techniques reduce contamination artifacts and improve the reliability of microplastic exposure experiments.

2021 Environmental Science Water Research & Technology 5 citations