Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Updated review on microplastics in water, their occurrence, detection, measurement, environmental pollution, and the need for regulatory standards

This review examines microplastic occurrence, detection methods, and measurement techniques in aquatic environments, highlighting the urgent need for explicit regulatory frameworks to address the growing threat of microplastic pollution in water systems.

2021 Environmental Pollution 130 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A Systematic Review of Microplastic Detection in Water

This systematic review summarizes current methods for detecting microplastics in water sources. The research highlights significant challenges in accurately measuring these tiny plastic particles, with different techniques yielding very different results. Better detection methods are essential for understanding how much microplastic is present in the water people drink and use daily.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Current status of the direct detection of microplastics in environments and implications for toxicological effects

Researchers reviewed current methods for detecting microplastics in the environment and summarized the toxic effects of microplastics on aquatic life. They found that while several detection techniques exist — including microscopy and spectroscopy — most suffer from slow processing times, high costs, or high error rates, underscoring the urgent need for faster and more accurate microplastic detection tools.

2023 Chemical Engineering Journal Advances 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Are We Underestimating Microplastic Contamination in Aquatic Environments?

This review argues that current microplastic monitoring methods likely underestimate the true extent of contamination in aquatic environments, especially for small particles and fibers. The authors call for standardized, more sensitive detection methods to better inform regulation and risk assessment.

2017 Environmental Management 277 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics in the Ecosystem: A Systematic Review of the Methods for Their Detection and Removal

This systematic review summarizes existing research on how microplastics spread through ecosystems and evaluates the methods scientists use to detect and remove them. The findings provide a comprehensive overview of physical and chemical detection techniques, helping advance efforts to clean up microplastic contamination that ultimately affects the water we drink and the food we eat.

2023 International Journal of Ecology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Optical System for In-situ Detection of Microplastics

Researchers developed a portable optical system capable of detecting, identifying, continuously monitoring, and quantifying microplastics in situ at natural water bodies. The system uses optical techniques to observe the temporal behavior of microplastic concentrations at fixed locations, enabling real-time environmental monitoring without sample collection and laboratory processing.

2024
Article Tier 2

Field-Portable Microplastic Sensing in Aqueous Environments: A Perspective on Emerging Techniques

This review examines emerging field-portable technologies for detecting and quantifying microplastics in aqueous environments, discussing optical, spectroscopic, and electrochemical sensing approaches. Researchers identify the lack of a standardized, rapid on-site method as the primary bottleneck limiting accurate real-world microplastic monitoring.

2021 Sensors 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Aquatic Environments: Sources, Ecotoxicity, Detection & Remediation

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic sources, ecotoxicity, detection methods, and remediation strategies in aquatic environments. Researchers found that microplastics act as carriers for toxic chemicals and pose threats to both marine and freshwater ecosystems as well as human health through drinking water exposure. The study highlights the need for improved detection technologies and effective remediation approaches to address this growing environmental challenge.

2021 Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry 60 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastic contamination, an emerging threat to the freshwater environment: a systematic review

Researchers systematically reviewed the spread of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems — rivers, lakes, and streams — documenting their sources, how they move through water, the damage they cause to aquatic organisms, and the methods used to detect them. Their review serves as a baseline reference for future research and calls for improved waste management to protect freshwater environments from ongoing microplastic contamination.

2024 ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Toward In Situ Detection, Sizing and Identification of Microplastics in Water at the National Research Council of Canada

Researchers at the National Research Council of Canada described in-development in situ technologies for detecting, sizing, and identifying microplastics in ocean water, aiming to overcome the time and resource limitations of conventional laboratory-based monitoring methods. The paper outlines instrument concepts targeting real-time, on-site microplastic pollution assessment to improve the efficiency of marine environmental monitoring.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic systems: An in-depth review of current and potential water treatment processes

This review provides a detailed examination of microplastic contamination in aquatic systems and evaluates current and emerging water treatment technologies for their removal. Researchers assessed methods ranging from conventional coagulation and filtration to advanced techniques like membrane bioreactors and electrochemical processes. The study concludes that while no single technology fully eliminates microplastics, combining multiple treatment approaches offers the most promising path forward.

2024 Chemosphere 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic environments: detection, abundance, characteristics, and toxicological studies

This review summarizes current knowledge about microplastics in water environments, covering how they are detected, how abundant they are, and what toxic effects they have on living organisms. Microplastics are found throughout aquatic systems and can accumulate in organisms while also spreading other pollutants through the environment. The authors emphasize that more attention should be paid to microplastics in freshwater and organisms closely linked to human food sources, as well as toxicity studies in mammals.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic ecosystems: Detection, source tracing, and sustainable management strategies

This review paper summarizes what we know about microplastics in water environments, including how they spread, how to detect them, and how to manage the problem. It highlights that microplastics can carry toxic substances and calls for stronger global policies and new cleanup methods like biodegradation to protect ecosystems and human health.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of Monitoring Technologies and Methods for Micro Plastics in Water as Novel Pollutants

This review surveys the range of technologies currently available for detecting and monitoring microplastics in water, including spectroscopic, microscopic, and chemical identification methods, outlining the strengths and limitations of each. Consistent and effective monitoring is identified as essential for controlling microplastic pollution, yet no single approach yet meets all needs across diverse water types and concentrations. The paper calls for stronger monitoring frameworks to support both research and regulatory decision-making on microplastic contamination.

2024 Scalable Computing Practice and Experience 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic environments: a review of recent advances

This review synthesizes recent advances in understanding microplastic contamination in aquatic environments, covering sources, distribution, and physical, chemical, and biological removal methods, and highlighting that no standardized cost-effective removal solution currently exists. The review emphasizes that microplastics cycle through natural and engineered systems, requiring whole-system approaches to avoid unintended recontamination.

2023 Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science 5 citations
Article Tier 2

State of the Art Offshore In Situ Monitoring of Microplastic

This review examines state-of-the-art technologies for in situ offshore monitoring and detection of microplastics in seawater, addressing the cost and time inefficiencies of conventional manta net sampling followed by laboratory analysis. The review assesses emerging sensor-based and optical systems capable of real-time microplastic detection in coastal and open ocean environments.

2022 Microplastics 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling Microplastics: Sources, Environment and Health Impacts, and Detection Techniques

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic sources, environmental transport mechanisms, health risks, and current detection technologies used across water systems. The authors examine a broad range of analytical methods, from spectroscopy to sensor-based approaches, for identifying and quantifying microplastics in diverse environmental samples. The study concludes that no single detection technique is sufficient on its own, and integrated multi-method approaches are needed for reliable monitoring.

2026 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

A review of methods for measuring microplastics in aquatic environments

This review critically evaluates methods used to measure microplastics in aquatic environments, covering sampling design, sample processing, and spectroscopic identification, and identifies the most significant sources of methodological variation. Standardizing these methods is essential for generating comparable data across studies and enabling robust environmental risk assessment.

2018 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 361 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics influencing aquatic environment and human health: A review of source, determination, distribution, removal, degradation, management strategy and future perspective

This review paper provides a broad summary of microplastic pollution in water environments, covering where they come from, how to detect them, how they spread, and how to remove them. The authors emphasize that microplastics persist for extremely long periods in water and can harm both aquatic life and human health, calling for better management strategies worldwide.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems: Analytical challenges, ecological impacts, and mitigation strategies

This review provides a comprehensive assessment of micro- and nanoplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, covering detection methods, toxic effects across the food chain, and emerging cleanup strategies. Researchers highlight the limitations of current analytical techniques and the challenges of accurately measuring these tiny particles in water and living organisms. The study identifies key research priorities needed to better understand and mitigate the growing threat of plastic particle pollution in waterways.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in water: types, detection, and removal strategies

This review covers the different types of microplastics found in water, methods used to detect them, and strategies for removing them from water sources. Microplastics enter water systems from both industrial sources and the breakdown of larger plastic waste, posing threats to aquatic life and potentially human health. The authors evaluate removal techniques including filtration, chemical treatment, and biological approaches that could help clean contaminated water.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 34 citations
Article Tier 2

A critical review on the migration, transformation, sampling, analysis and environmental effects of microplastics in the environment

This review provides a comprehensive overview of where microplastics come from, how they move through different environments, and the methods used to detect and measure them. It highlights that microplastics can carry harmful chemicals and pathogens, and emphasizes the need for standardized detection methods so researchers can better assess the true risks to ecosystems and human health.

2024 Journal of Environmental Sciences 22 citations
Review Tier 2

A review on microplastics: sources, environmental fate, degradation pathways, and analytical identification methods.

This review paper summarizes existing research on tiny plastic particles called microplastics and how scientists detect them in the environment. Microplastics are a growing concern because they contaminate our air, water, and food, potentially affecting human health when we breathe or eat them. The researchers found that new, cheaper detection methods could help us better monitor these plastic particles and understand their impact on our health and environment.

2026 RSC advances
Review Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwater systems: A review on occurrence, environmental effects, and methods for microplastics detection

This review summarizes the current understanding of microplastic contamination in freshwater systems, from sources like wastewater treatment plants to their effects on aquatic life. Researchers note that microplastics can carry toxic chemicals and have been shown to cause intestinal damage and metabolic changes in fish. The paper highlights that freshwater microplastic pollution is a significant and growing concern that warrants more research attention.

2017 Water Research 2136 citations