Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Plastic analysis with a plasmonic nano-gold sensor coated with plastic binding peptides.

This study describes a sensor technology using gold nanoparticles coated with plastic-binding peptides to detect and identify small plastic particles in the environment. Developing rapid, accurate detection methods is a critical step toward understanding how much microplastic contamination exists in water and other environments, and this approach offers a potentially faster and more sensitive alternative to conventional identification techniques.

2024 Preprints.org 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Field-Deployable Plasmonic Sensing and Machine Learning Classification of Microplastics Using Peptide–AuNP Conjugates

Researchers developed a portable peptide-gold nanoparticle assay that converts polymer-specific interactions into a colorimetric signal detectable by machine learning, enabling field-deployable classification of common microplastic types in water without laboratory equipment.

2025
Article Tier 2

A colorimetric detection of polystyrene nanoplastics with gold nanoparticles in the aqueous phase

Researchers developed a colorimetric detection method using gold nanoparticles to identify polystyrene nanoplastics in water, providing a simpler and more sensitive alternative to traditional spectroscopy methods for detecting nanoplastics that are too small for conventional microplastic analysis.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Gold nanoparticle assisted colorimetric biosensors for rapid polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sensing for sustainable environment to monitor microplastics

Researchers proposed a gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric biosensor for rapid detection of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics, using computational modeling to evaluate PET-binding peptides that could enable simple, field-deployable microplastic monitoring.

2023 Environmental Research 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Peptide-based strategies for detecting microplastics in aquatic systems: A review

This review explores the emerging use of specially designed peptides that can bind to specific types of plastic for detecting microplastics in water. Researchers describe how advances in protein engineering and computational design have enabled the creation of peptides that selectively recognize different polymer surfaces. The peptide-based approach offers a promising new detection method that could complement existing techniques for monitoring microplastic pollution in aquatic environments.

2025 Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Analysis with a Plasmonic Nano-Gold Sensor Coated with Plastic-Binding Peptides

Researchers developed a nano-gold sensor coated with plastic-binding peptides to detect common plastic polymers including polyethylene, PET, polypropylene, and polystyrene at very small scales. When tested on freshwater mussels deployed at suspected pollution sites, the sensor detected higher plastic levels near rainfall overflow and urban areas compared to treated municipal effluent sites.

2024 Journal of Xenobiotics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Selective on-site detection and quantification of polystyrene microplastics in water using fluorescence-tagged peptides and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Researchers created a portable detection system using fluorescence-tagged peptides and electrochemical sensors to identify polystyrene microplastics in different water types. The method could detect microplastics across a wide size range and in various water conditions, including seawater and tap water. This on-site detection approach could make microplastic monitoring faster and more accessible compared to traditional laboratory methods.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Facile detection of microplastics from a variety of environmental samples with conjugated polymer nanoparticles

Researchers developed a quick and straightforward method for detecting microplastics in environmental samples using fluorescent conjugated polymer nanoparticles. The technique can identify microplastic particles across a range of sample types without requiring complex laboratory equipment. This approach could make microplastic monitoring more accessible and practical for routine environmental testing.

2024 Environmental Science Advances 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of Pristine and Protein Corona Coated Micro- and Nanoplastic Particles with a Colorimetric Sensor Array

Scientists developed a low-cost colorimetric sensor array — essentially a panel of color-changing dyes — capable of detecting and distinguishing different types of micro- and nanoplastics at concentrations as low as 10 nanograms per milliliter. The tool can also differentiate between bare plastic particles and those coated with proteins (as would happen in a biological environment), making it a promising rapid-screening method for microplastic monitoring in water.

2024 ACS Omega 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastibodies for multiplexed detection and sorting of microplastic particles in high-throughput

Researchers developed a high-throughput flow cytometry method using material-binding peptide antibodies (plastibodies) for multiplexed detection and sorting of microplastic particles, enabling sensitive and rapid quantification in aqueous samples.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for the detection of microplastics

Researchers developed a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy method using gold nanoparticles to detect polystyrene microplastics at concentrations as low as 6.5 micrograms per milliliter, offering a new tool for detecting sub-micron plastic pollutants in water.

2022 Applied Surface Science 140 citations
Article Tier 2

MagNanoTrap enrichment empowers ultra-sensitive quantification of mixed nanoplastic particles from environmental water samples

Researchers developed the MagNanoTrap platform — magnetic nanoparticles coated with a bifunctional peptide — to enrich and quantify nanoplastic particles from environmental water samples, achieving ultra-sensitive detection across multiple polymer types that eluded conventional methods.

2025
Article Tier 2

Ms.

Researchers developed polymer-specific, high-affinity binding peptides capable of selectively identifying microplastic types in mixed environmental samples, aiming to create a rapid and cost-effective alternative to conventional spectroscopic identification methods. The approach leverages peptide-surface interactions to discriminate between different plastic polymers, addressing the challenge of accurately detecting microplastics released through plastic degradation and industrial processing.

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

A rapid-screening approach to detect and quantify microplastics based on fluorescent tagging with Nile Red

Researchers developed a rapid fluorescent screening method using Nile Red dye to detect and quantify microplastics in environmental samples, finding it significantly faster than conventional methods while maintaining reasonable accuracy.

2017 Scientific Reports 897 citations
Article Tier 2

Peptide-Decorated Microneedles for the Detection of Microplastics

Researchers developed a new sensor using tiny microneedles coated with specially designed peptides that can capture and detect microplastics. The peptides bind to the hydrophobic surfaces of plastic particles, and Raman spectroscopy confirms the capture. This technology could make it easier and faster to test for microplastic contamination in water, food, and other environmental samples.

2024 Biosensors 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Ms.

Researchers developed polymer-specific, high-affinity binding peptides covalently linked to fluorescent probes to create a low-cost, sustainable detection system capable of identifying and labelling specific plastic polymers in mixed environmental and industrial microplastic samples. The method aimed to enable fast, accurate polymer identification in heterogeneous samples relevant to both recycling and environmental monitoring applications.

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

Ms.

Researchers developed a low-cost, sustainable detection system using polymer-specific, high-affinity binding peptides for identifying and sorting microplastics by polymer type in mixed heterogeneous samples. The approach leverages peptide-based molecular recognition as an alternative to expensive spectroscopic methods, aiming to improve microplastic detection and facilitate recycling processes by enabling polymer-type discrimination in complex waste streams.

2024 Open MIND
Article Tier 2

Revolutionizing microplastic detection in water through quantum dot fluorescence

Researchers developed a quantum dot fluorescence-based detection system for microplastics in water, achieving sensitive and rapid identification of multiple polymer types with lower detection limits and faster analysis times than conventional spectroscopic methods.

2025 Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A
Article Tier 2

Ms.

Researchers developed a low-cost microplastic detection system using polymer-specific peptides covalently linked to fluorescent probes, employing phage surface display technology to identify polymer-specific binding sequences. The method aims to rapidly distinguish different plastic polymer types in environmental and industrial mixed samples using fluorescent labeling combined with FTIR and Raman spectroscopy validation.

2024 Open MIND
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastics using microfluidic approach

Researchers developed a microfluidic chip-based method using Nile red fluorescent staining to detect and count microplastic particles, offering a faster and less expensive alternative to conventional microscopy and spectroscopy approaches for environmental monitoring.

2022 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of Polymeric Nanoparticles Using Strategic Peptide Sensor Configurations and Machine Learning

Researchers created a sensor system using specially designed peptides combined with machine learning to identify different types of plastic nanoparticles dispersed in water. The peptide sensors produced distinct fluorescence patterns for each polymer type, and the AI algorithms could accurately distinguish between plastics with very similar chemical structures. This approach could help fill a critical gap in environmental monitoring, since detecting nanoplastics in water remains a major challenge with current technology.

2025 ACS Sensors 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Fluorogenic hyaluronan nanogels for detection of micro- and nanoplastics in water

Researchers developed fluorogenic hyaluronan nanogels that bind selectively to micro- and nanoplastic surfaces in water and become brightly emissive upon binding, enabling sensitive fluorescence-based detection of plastic particles in environmental water samples.

2021 Environmental Science Nano 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of dye-staining method for microplastics detection

Researchers developed a tailored dye-staining method for detecting microplastics and microfibers, proposing a selective staining protocol designed to improve visualization and identification accuracy. The study presents this approach as a practical analytical tool for microplastic detection in environmental and laboratory samples.

2024
Article Tier 2

Protein Corona-Mediated Extraction for Quantitative Analysis of Nanoplastics in Environmental Waters by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

Scientists developed a new method for detecting and measuring nanoplastics in environmental water samples using a protein-based extraction technique paired with specialized mass spectrometry. The approach works by adding a protein that naturally coats nanoplastic particles, which can then be separated from the water and analyzed. Using this method, researchers detected nanoplastics in both river water and wastewater treatment plant samples, demonstrating a practical tool for monitoring these tiny but potentially harmful contaminants.

2021 Analytical Chemistry 103 citations