Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Orbits, spirals, and trapped states: Dynamics of a phoretic Janus particle in a radial concentration gradient

Researchers developed a theoretical description of the motion of a spherical phoretic Janus particle in a radial concentration gradient of chemical solute driving self-propulsion, deriving analytical solutions for particle velocity. The study characterized distinct dynamic states including orbits, spirals, and trapped configurations, with implications for understanding active colloidal matter behavior near chemical point sources or sinks.

2024 arXiv (Cornell University)
Article Tier 2

Ionic Diffusiophoresis of Active Colloids via Galvanic Exchange Reactions

This study investigates ionic diffusiophoresis of active colloids that undergo galvanic exchange reactions, exploring how chemical gradients drive directed particle motion in electrolyte solutions; the work is relevant to nano-scale transport physics rather than microplastic ecology.

2025 Nano Letters 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Active colloids orbiting giant vesicles

Scientists observed that self-propelled colloidal particles persistently orbit around lipid membrane vesicles in water. This soft matter physics research could contribute to understanding how active micro-scale particles, including some plastic fragments, interact with biological membranes.

2021 Soft Matter 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Review: Interactions of Active Colloids with Passive Tracers

This review examines how self-propelled particles (active colloids) interact with passive objects in their environment, drawing parallels between artificial systems and biological ones like bacteria. The findings have relevance for understanding how microplastics may be transported or aggregated by microorganisms in water.

2019 Condensed Matter 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Mixing and unmixing induced by active camphor particles

Scientists used self-propelled camphor particles on water to study how tiny floating objects are mixed or separated by active swimmers. This fluid physics research has implications for understanding how microplastic particles are distributed and mixed in water bodies with current and biological activity.

2021 Physical Review Fluids 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Comprehensive Understanding of Self-Propelled Janus Pt/Fe2O3 Micromotor Dynamics: Impact of Size, Morphology, and Surface Structure

Researchers systematically varied the size, morphology, and surface structure of self-propelled Janus Pt/Fe2O3 hematite-based micromotors by modifying synthesis methods, comparing propulsion speeds to elucidate the mechanisms governing micromotor dynamics and develop more efficient devices for capturing and removing microplastics from aquatic environments.

2023 The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 4 citations
Article Tier 2

A scalable method to model large suspensions of colloidal phoretic particles with arbitrary shapes

Researchers developed a computationally efficient framework for simulating large numbers of self-propelling microscopic particles that move via chemical gradients, enabling more realistic modeling of collective behavior in synthetic micro-swimmers — relevant for designing drug delivery systems and understanding microorganism movement.

2024 Journal of Computational Physics 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Driven Engulfment of Janus Particles by Giant Vesicles in and out of Thermal Equilibrium

Researchers studied how Janus particles — small particles with two distinct surfaces — interact with and become engulfed by lipid vesicles, which are used as models for cell membranes. The findings are relevant for understanding how microparticles may interact with biological membranes in living organisms.

2022 Nanomaterials 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Janus particles: from concepts to environmentally friendly materials and sustainable applications

This review covers Janus particles — asymmetric particles with two distinct chemical or physical faces — examining their synthesis, self-assembly properties, and emerging environmental and industrial applications including use as safer surfactant alternatives.

2020 Colloid & Polymer Science 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Diffusiophoresis: a novel transport mechanism - fundamentals, applications, and future opportunities

This paper is not primarily about microplastics. It reviews diffusiophoresis, a physical transport mechanism where particles move in response to chemical concentration gradients, covering both fundamental science and applications in water filtration, drug delivery, and biological systems. While the removal of microplastics is briefly mentioned as one potential application of active diffusiophoresis, the paper is a broad physics review rather than a study of microplastic pollution.

2023 Frontiers in Sensors 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Distinct dynamics of self-propelled bowl-shaped micromotors caused by shape effect: Concave vs convex

This study compared the movement dynamics of two bowl-shaped micromotors with platinum catalysts on their concave versus convex surfaces, finding that surface geometry significantly influences bubble formation and propulsion speed. Self-propelled micromotors are being explored for potential applications including targeted removal of pollutants like microplastics from water.

2021 Physics of Fluids 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Microfluidic Methods in Janus Particle Synthesis

This review examines microfluidic-based methods for synthesizing Janus particles -- asymmetric particles with two distinct surface chemistries -- highlighting how these techniques offer superior control over reaction conditions, rapid prototyping, and low reagent consumption compared to conventional synthesis methods.

2022 International Journal of Nanomedicine 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Diffusiophoretic transport of colloids in porous media

This study is not primarily about microplastics; it investigates how chemical gradients (diffusiophoresis) change how colloidal particles move through porous media in general. Microplastic remediation is mentioned as one potential application area, but the work is fundamentally a fluid physics study.

2024 arXiv (Cornell University) 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of nanoplastics in saturated iron oxide-coated gravel: Effects of flow velocity, ionic strength and surface property of nanoplastics

Researchers investigated nanoplastic transport through saturated iron oxide-coated gravel by varying flow velocity, ionic strength, and surface properties, finding that higher flow rates promoted nanoplastic transport, while ionic strength had opposing effects on negatively and positively charged particles depending on their surface chemistry.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances
Article Tier 2

In Vivo Chemotaxis System with Ultra-High Ionic Tolerance

Researchers developed a chemotactic drug delivery system based on inducible nitric oxide synthase and arginine that maintains efficient directional motion in physiological high-ionic-strength environments, using mesoscale simulations to reveal a thermally enhanced self-electrophoresis mechanism that does not depend on structural asymmetry.

2026
Article Tier 2

Self-Propelled Janus Microdimer Swimmers under a Rotating Magnetic Field

Researchers designed self-propelling microscopic swimmers powered by rotating magnetic fields, with potential uses in medicine and environmental monitoring. While not directly about microplastics, this micro-robotics technology could eventually be applied to detecting or removing contaminants at the microscale.

2019 Nanomaterials 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Dynamics of Colloids at Equilibrium and Thermal Non-equilibrium: From Microrheology to Environmental Sensing

This thesis is not primarily about microplastics; it investigates the general dynamics of colloidal particles — both at equilibrium (Brownian motion, self-assembly) and under thermal gradients — with applications in microrheology and biochemical sensing. Microplastic detection is not a focus of the work.

2026 University of Calgary
Article Tier 2

An efficient strategy to separate nanoplastics from water using anisotropic magnetic Janus particles

Researchers developed amphiphilic magnetic Janus particles that selectively capture nanoplastics from water, achieving capture capacities of 10.3-19.2 mg/g — approximately 4-7 times higher than conventional magnetic particles. The anisotropic design leverages hydrophobic-hydrophilic surface asymmetry to enhance nanoplastic affinity, offering an efficient approach for drinking water treatment.

2025 Water Research
Article Tier 2

Repulsions and attractions between membrane-deforming spheres, Janus-particles, and opposite tube-like deformations in giant unilamellar vesicles

Researchers experimentally and theoretically investigated interactions between membrane-deforming particles in giant unilamellar vesicles, finding that particles inducing opposite-direction membrane deformations exhibit repulsion-to-attraction transitions—a finding relevant to understanding how microplastics and nanoparticles interact with cell membranes.

2025 Soft Matter 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Self-driven magnetorobots for recyclable and scalable micro/nanoplastic removal from nonmarine waters

Researchers developed self-driven magnetorobots using magnetizable ion-exchange resin spheres that can dynamically remove micro- and nanoplastics from nonmarine waters, overcoming limitations of conventional chemical flocculation and physical filtration methods.

2022 Science Advances 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Self-propelled micro/nanomotors for removal of insoluble water contaminants: microplastics and oil spills

This frontier review examines the capabilities of self-propelled micro/nanomotors for removing oil spills and plastic-based pollutants from water, discussing working mechanisms, current limitations, and future research directions for deploying these autonomous systems in environmental remediation.

2021 Environmental Science Nano 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Sedimentation and shear-induced dynamics of spheroids in fluids with spatial viscosity variations

Researchers used a generalized reciprocal theorem approach to analytically model how spheroid-shaped particles—relevant to elongated microplastics—settle and rotate in viscosity-stratified fluids. The analysis provides theoretical predictions for how viscosity gradients in natural water columns affect the transport dynamics of non-spherical microplastic particles.

2025 Journal of Fluid Mechanics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

A Self-Regulating Shuttle for Autonomous Seek and Destroy of Microplastics from Wastewater

Researchers developed a buoyancy-driven hybrid hydrogel that functions as a self-regulating shuttle for autonomous microplastic removal from wastewater, using thermally switchable buoyancy to cyclically transport captured contaminants from the seabed to the water surface for photocatalytic degradation without external intervention.

2025
Article Tier 2

Sorting of heterogeneous colloids by AC-dielectrophoretic forces in a microfluidic chip with asymmetric orifices

Researchers demonstrated that AC dielectrophoretic forces in a microfluidic chip with asymmetric orifices can sort heterogeneous colloidal particles — including Janus particles and intact versus broken dumbbells — based on composition-dependent differences in their response to electric field gradients.

2022 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 20 citations