Papers

61,005 results
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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

Identification and visualisation of microplastics/nanoplastics by Raman imaging (i): Down to 100 nm

Researchers developed an advanced Raman imaging technique capable of identifying and visualizing nanoplastics down to 100 nanometers in size. The study addressed a key analytical gap, as nanoplastic research has been limited by the lack of effective characterization methods, and the new approach offers a way to detect these extremely small particles that may pose greater environmental risks due to their high surface area.

2020 Water Research 292 citations
Article Tier 2

Fast detection and 3D imaging of nanoplastics and microplastics by stimulated Raman scattering microscopy

Researchers developed a fast imaging technique using stimulated Raman scattering microscopy to detect and create 3D maps of nanoplastics and microplastics at the single-particle level. The method can identify plastic particles as small as 100 nanometers and distinguish between different polymer types without the need for dyes or labels. This technology could help scientists more accurately track tiny plastic particles in environmental and biological samples.

2023 Cell Reports Physical Science 23 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

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Facilitates the Detection of Microplastics <1 μm in the Environment

Researchers developed a method using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to detect and identify individual microplastic particles smaller than one micrometer. This technique addresses a major gap in environmental monitoring, since most current methods cannot reliably detect the smallest microplastics that may pose the greatest risk due to their ability to enter cells and tissues.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 325 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

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

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

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
Article Tier 2

Sub-10 nm Nanoparticle Detection Using Multi-Technique-Based Micro-Raman Spectroscopy

Researchers combined standard micro-Raman spectroscopy with atomic force microscopy to detect individual nanoparticles as small as 9 nm — a size range that until now required far more complex and time-consuming instruments. This advance matters for microplastic research because plastics continuously fragment into nanoplastics, and having accessible tools to characterise these ultra-small particles is essential for understanding their environmental distribution and biological uptake.

2023 Polymers 10 citations
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

Quantitative and sensitive analysis of polystyrene nanoplastics down to 50 nm by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy in water

Researchers developed a highly sensitive method using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to detect and quantify polystyrene nanoplastics as small as 50 nanometers in water samples. The technique achieved detection limits far below what conventional methods can measure, enabling the identification of nanoplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations. This advancement addresses a critical gap in nanoplastic monitoring, as most existing methods cannot reliably detect particles at such small sizes.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 123 citations
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

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

Quantitative analysis of microplastics in seawater based on SERS internal standard method

Researchers developed a new method using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to quantitatively detect microplastics in seawater. By using an internal standard approach, they improved accuracy compared to existing techniques that struggle with particles smaller than one micrometer. The method offers a more sensitive and practical way to measure microplastic concentrations in marine environments.

2024 Analytical Methods 9 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

Correlative SEM-Raman microscopy to reveal nanoplastics in complex environments

Researchers developed a correlative approach combining scanning electron microscopy and Raman microscopy to detect and identify nanoplastics as small as 100 nanometers in complex environmental samples. The method was tested on various matrices and successfully identified individual plastic nanoparticles that would be missed by conventional techniques. The study represents a significant advance in analytical capability for studying the smallest and most challenging size fraction of plastic pollution.

2021 Micron 58 citations
Article Tier 2

The onset of surface-enhanced Raman scattering for single-particle detection of submicroplastics

Researchers demonstrated surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) using gold nanourchins as a detection method for submicroplastic polystyrene particles at the single-particle level, addressing a critical monitoring gap for plastics smaller than 1 micrometer. The approach offers a promising analytical solution for detecting submicron and nanoplastics that conventional techniques cannot reliably quantify.

2022 Journal of Environmental Sciences 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Expanding sample volume for microscopical detection of nanoplastics

Scientists developed a new method that can detect nanoplastics in much larger water samples than was previously possible, scaling up from tiny droplets to full liters of seawater. The technique combines specialized membrane filters with enhanced Raman spectroscopy to identify individual nanoplastic particles. This advancement addresses a major technical barrier in understanding how widespread nanoplastic contamination really is in ocean environments.

2024 Marine Environmental Research 5 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

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

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

Raman Tweezers for Small Microplastics and Nanoplastics Identification in Seawater

Researchers used Raman tweezers - optical tweezers combined with Raman spectroscopy - to capture and chemically identify individual small microplastic and nanoplastic particles in seawater samples in situ. This novel technique could enable real-time identification of the smallest plastic particles in marine environments, filling a critical gap in nano- and micro-plastic detection.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 329 citations
Article Tier 2

Single-Particle Nanoplastic Identification by Liquid–Liquid Interfacial Assembly for Correlative SERS-SEM/EDX

Researchers developed a liquid-liquid interface technique that simultaneously concentrates nanoplastic particles from dilute water samples and coats them with silver nanoparticles to enable highly sensitive Raman spectroscopy (SERS) identification, achieving over 95% enrichment efficiency for particles between 100 and 800 nanometers. The method also preserves particle morphology for follow-up electron microscopy analysis. This analytical advance addresses one of the biggest technical barriers in nanoplastic research — detecting and identifying extremely small plastic particles at environmentally relevant concentrations.

2026 Analytical Chemistry