Papers

61,005 results
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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

Tracking nanoplastics in drinking water: a new frontier with the combination of dielectrophoresis and Raman spectroscopy

Researchers developed a new combined technique using dielectrophoresis and Raman spectroscopy to detect and identify nanoplastics in drinking water. The method can trap and concentrate nanoplastic particles that are too small for conventional detection approaches, then chemically identify them. This advancement addresses a critical gap in our ability to monitor nanoscale plastic contamination in water supplies.

2025 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection of microplastics and nanoplastics: Are Raman tweezers and enhanced Raman methods the solution for sub 20 μm particles?

Raman tweezers — devices that use a laser beam to trap and analyze individual particles — combined with plasmonic enhancement techniques can detect and characterize nanoplastics and microplastics smaller than 20 µm, a size range that defeats most conventional filtration-based detection methods. Improving detection sensitivity for the smallest plastic particles is critical because nanoplastics are thought to be the most biologically active fraction, capable of crossing cell membranes and accumulating in tissues.

2024 EPJ Web of Conferences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection and analysis of microplastics in the subtropical ocean of Okinawa using micro-Raman Optical Tweezers

Micro-Raman optical tweezers were used to isolate and identify individual microplastic particles from seawater samples collected off Okinawa, demonstrating that this single-particle technique can characterize polymer composition of very small particles that are difficult to detect with conventional methods.

2021 10 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

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

Nanoplastic Analysis by Online Coupling of Raman Microscopy and Field-Flow Fractionation Enabled by Optical Tweezers

Researchers developed a new analytical technique for detecting nanoplastics by combining field-flow fractionation with online Raman microspectroscopy, using optical tweezers to trap particles and overcome weak scattering signals. The method successfully identified polymer and inorganic particles ranging from 200 nm to 5 micrometers at concentrations around 1 mg/L.

2020 Analytical Chemistry 151 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of single sea microplastics by optical and Raman tweezers

Researchers investigated individual seawater microplastic particles using optical and Raman tweezers, applying laser-based trapping techniques to enable contactless manipulation and chemical characterization of single microplastic particles collected directly from the marine environment.

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

Investigation of single sea microplastics by optical and Raman tweezers

Researchers investigated individual seawater microplastic particles using optical and Raman tweezers, applying laser-based trapping techniques to enable contactless manipulation and chemical characterization of single microplastic particles collected directly from the marine environment.

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

Visible-light-sensitive microrobots using H2O as fuel for highly efficient capture and precise detection of nanoplastics

Researchers developed a cage-like microrobot powered by visible light and water that captures nanoplastics from solution within two minutes and detects them at low concentrations using surface-enhanced Raman scattering, with the robot recoverable via magnet for reuse.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Echobeam: Acoustofluidic Cluster Analysis for Micro and Nanoplastic Identification Using Fluorescence and Raman Spectroscopy

Researchers used sound waves to concentrate and levitate clusters of micro- and nanoplastics from water samples, then identified multiple plastic types simultaneously using Raman spectroscopy — a light-based chemical fingerprinting method. The system captured particles as small as 50 nanometers at water-quality-relevant concentrations, representing a significant step toward fast, reliable monitoring of nanoplastics in drinking water.

2024
Article Tier 2

Separation and trapping of nanoparticles using pressure-driven flow and electrokinetic transport in micro- and nanochannels

Researchers investigated the separation and trapping of nanoparticles in micro- and nanochannels using combined pressure-driven flow and electrokinetic transport, exploring these techniques as potential methods for detecting and recovering nanoplastics dispersed in aquatic environments.

2025 Mechanical Engineering Journal
Article Tier 2

Droplet-based Opto-microfluidic Device for Microplastic Sensing in Aqueous Solutions

Researchers developed a microfluidic device using light to detect plastic microspheres in water droplets, offering a new tool for identifying microplastic contamination in aquatic environments.

2023
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

A photoluminescence strategy for detection nanoplastics in water and biological imaging in cells and plants

Researchers developed a fluorescent probe that can rapidly detect nanoplastics in water samples down to very low concentrations. The probe works by binding to nanoplastic surfaces through electrical and chemical interactions, which causes it to glow, enabling both detection and visual tracking in cells and plant tissues. This tool could help scientists better monitor nanoplastic contamination in water and understand how these tiny particles move through living organisms.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Optical and Raman tweezers for the manipulation and characterization of cosmic dust and sea microplastics

Researchers used optical and Raman laser tweezers to manipulate and identify individual micro- and nanoplastic particles and cosmic dust grains. The technique can characterize particle composition and fragmentation behavior, offering a powerful new approach for studying how microplastics break down in the ocean.

2023
Article Tier 2

Quantification of Very Low Concentrations of Colloids with Light Scattering Applied to Micro(Nano)Plastics in Seawater

Researchers evaluated static and dynamic light scattering techniques for detecting and quantifying colloidal microplastic and nanoplastic particles (0.1-0.8 micron diameter) at very low concentrations in marine water, demonstrating their potential as rapid, non-destructive monitoring tools.

2023 Microplastics 4 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

Direct Observation of Nanoplastics in Ocean Water

This study directly observed nanoplastic particles in actual ocean water samples for the first time using advanced microscopy techniques, confirming the presence of nanoscale plastic fragments in marine environments and providing a method for studying their distribution and behavior.

2023 4 citations
Article Tier 2

In-situ Detection Method for Microplastics in Water by Polarized Light Scattering

Researchers developed an in-situ detection method for microplastics in water using polarized light scattering at 120 degrees, enabling real-time measurement of individual particles without sample collection or laboratory processing.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Optofluidic light-droplet interaction for rapidly assessing the presence of plastic microspheres within aqueous suspensions

Scientists developed a new device that can quickly detect tiny plastic particles (called microplastics) in water by shining light through water droplets and measuring how much light gets blocked. The device can spot extremely small amounts of plastic pollution - even particles smaller than the width of a human hair. This technology could help us better monitor plastic contamination in drinking water and the environment, which is important since these tiny plastics can harm both ecosystems and human health.

2026 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Optofluidic light-droplet interaction for rapidly assessing the presence of plastic microspheres within aqueous suspensions

Scientists created a new device that can quickly detect tiny plastic particles (called microplastics) in water by shining light through water droplets and measuring changes in brightness. The device can spot extremely small amounts of plastic pollution - as little as 0.13 milligrams per gram of water. This technology could help us better monitor plastic contamination in our drinking water and environment, which is important since these tiny plastics can harm both ecosystems and human health.

2026 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Flow Plastometry of Microplastics Using Optical Line Tweezers

Researchers developed a novel system using Raman spectroscopy combined with optical line tweezers to simultaneously analyze the shape and chemical composition of microplastics flowing through a channel. The technique can capture and characterize particles as small as 500 nanometers, offering a potential tool for real-time monitoring of microplastics in water environments.

2026 ACS Sensors
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