Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Additives, plasticizers, small microplastics (<100 μm), and other microlitter components in the gastrointestinal tract of commercial teleost fish: Method of extraction, purification, quantification, and characterization using Micro-FTIR

Researchers developed a Micro-FTIR extraction and identification method for small microplastics (under 100 µm) and plastic additives in the gastrointestinal tracts of five commercial Mediterranean fish species, finding species-specific contamination patterns with anchovies and sardines showing the highest microplastic burdens.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification and characterization of additives, plasticizers, and small microplastics (5–100 μm) in highway stormwater runoff

Small microplastics (5-100 micrometers), plastic additives, and plasticizers were quantified in highway stormwater runoff samples using micro-FTIR and optimized extraction protocols. Small microplastics dominated by number, with rubber fragments and tire-wear particles prominent, and concentrations varied significantly between rainfall events based on road traffic intensity and antecedent dry period.

2022 Journal of Environmental Management 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in different water samples (seawater, freshwater, and wastewater): Methodology approach for characterization using micro-FTIR spectroscopy

Researchers developed a standardized methodology for detecting and characterizing small microplastics (10-500 micrometers) in different water types using micro-FTIR spectroscopy. The study tested various sample preparation approaches for seawater, freshwater, and wastewater, establishing reliable protocols for rinsing, digestion, and microplastic collection that can be used to assess treatment plant removal efficiency.

2023 Water Research 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Analysis of Microplastics and Small Microplastics (<100 ??????m) in Natural Waters via Micro-FTIR

This book chapter discussed using micro-FTIR spectroscopy to detect and quantify microplastics smaller than 100 µm in natural (marine and freshwater) water samples. The authors emphasized the importance of this size class for ecological risk and described practical considerations for accurate quantification.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics monitoring in different environments: separation, physicochemical characterization, and quantification

Researchers systematically monitored microplastic contamination across multiple environments including a wastewater treatment plant, surrounding water bodies, and soils near plastic factories, characterizing shape, size, color, and polymer composition via microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. They found fragments and fibers to be the most common microplastic shapes in water environments and documented simultaneous contamination across all sampled matrices.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Article Tier 2

Contributions of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in microplastic pollution research: A review

This review covers advances in Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy techniques — including chemical imaging — for identifying polymer types in microplastic samples and tracing their fate in different environmental matrices.

2020 Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 480 citations
Article Tier 2

Analysis of Microplastic at Sea Water and Sediment in the Pasaran Island Bay Using FT-IR

Researchers analysed microplastic particle counts, morphologies, and polymer types in seawater and sediment samples collected from four stations around Pasaran Island Bay using FT-IR spectroscopy. Extraction protocols used 70% ethanol, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium chloride for seawater samples and FeSO4, NaCl, and H2O2 for sediments, characterising the nature and extent of microplastic pollution at this Indonesian marine site.

2024 Jurnal Ilmiah Biologi Eksperimen dan Keanekaragaman Hayati (J-BEKH)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in the surface waters of the Ross Sea (Antarctica): Occurrence, distribution and characterization by FTIR

Researchers conducted the first survey of microplastic contamination in Antarctic Ross Sea surface waters, finding low concentrations averaging 0.17 particles per cubic meter and dominated by polyethylene and polypropylene fragments, using a non-invasive FTIR imaging method on dried filters that allows subsequent analysis of the same sample for other contaminants.

2017 Chemosphere 651 citations
Article Tier 2

The applicability of reflectance micro-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy for the detection of synthetic microplastics in marine sediments

Researchers developed and validated an optimized micro-FT-IR spectroscopy protocol for detecting microplastics in coastal marine sediments, providing a detailed operating procedure. The standardized method improves detection reliability and enables comparison of results across laboratories studying sediment microplastic contamination.

2012 The Science of The Total Environment 375 citations
Article Tier 2

An Integrated Assessment of Microplastic Pollution in Coastal Surface Water and Sediment of Japan

Researchers conducted a comprehensive survey of microplastic pollution in surface water and sediment at 15 coastal locations across Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa. They extracted over 53,000 suspected microplastic particles and identified the most common polymers using FTIR spectroscopy. The study provides an integrated baseline dataset for understanding the extent and distribution of microplastic contamination along Japanese coastlines.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution in Libyan Port Sediments: Today's Findings and Environmental Impacts

Researchers used FTIR spectroscopy to identify and characterize microplastics in sediment samples collected from three port locations in west Libya near the Mediterranean Sea, providing baseline data on microplastic pollution types and environmental impacts in Libyan coastal environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

From the highway to receiving water bodies: identification and simultaneous quantification of small microplastics (< 100 µm) in highway stormwater runoff

Researchers used micro-FTIR vibrational spectroscopy to simultaneously identify and quantify small microplastics (under 100 µm) in highway stormwater runoff sampled at inlet and outlet points of a filtration facility in Italy. Inlet concentrations reached up to 39,813 SMPs/L with polyamide 6 and HDPE dominating, and the treatment system reduced concentrations substantially, though significant microplastic loads still discharged to the receiving water body.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic fouling: A gap in knowledge and a research imperative to improve their study by infrared characterization spectroscopy

Researchers analysed 4,042 infrared spectra of polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene microplastics collected from the Mediterranean Sea using principal component analysis, identifying that spectral variability in weathered marine microplastics is primarily driven by three processes: chemical ageing, organic fouling, and inorganic fouling.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 14 citations
Article Tier 2

A novel method for purification, quantitative analysis and characterization of microplastic fibers using Micro-FTIR

Researchers developed an improved method for purifying, quantifying, and characterizing microplastic fibers using micro-FTIR spectroscopy, addressing the challenge that fibers are harder to process and identify than other microplastic shapes. The method improvements enable more accurate characterization of this common but technically challenging category of environmental microplastics.

2019 Chemosphere 191 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification and characterization of microplastics in surface water samples from the Northeast Atlantic Ocean using laser direct infrared imaging

Researchers quantified microplastics in Northeast Atlantic Ocean surface waters using laser direct infrared imaging, detecting particles down to 20 micrometers and revealing microplastic concentrations and polymer compositions across eight sampling locations.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastics, (bio)polymers and their apparent biogeochemical cycle: An infrared spectroscopy study on foraminifera

Using FTIR microscopy, researchers investigated whether marine foraminifera incorporate microplastics and plasticizers from sediments, finding evidence of polymer uptake and plasticizer internalization in both cultured and field-collected specimens from the Mediterranean seafloor.

2021 Environmental Pollution 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Seasonal and spatial distribution of microplastics in sediments by FTIR imaging throughout a continuum lake - lagoon- beach from the Tunisian coast

Researchers investigated seasonal and spatial distribution of microplastics in sediments across a lake-lagoon-beach continuum on the Tunisian coast, using FTIR imaging to characterize plastic types, finding microplastics throughout all ecosystems with variations by season, depth, and proximity to pollution sources.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Refined Analysis of Microplastics: Integrating Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy

This study optimized the use of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy for characterizing microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that integrating both techniques improves identification accuracy and physicochemical characterization.

2025 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
Article Tier 2

Quantification and Chemical Characterization of Plastic Additives and Small Microplastics (<100 μm) in Highway Road Dust

Researchers quantified small microplastics (under 100 micrometers) and plastic additives in highway road dust samples using micro-FTIR analysis. The study found significant concentrations of small microplastics across sampling sites, highlighting road dust as an important but often overlooked source of microplastic contamination that can become airborne or wash into waterways via stormwater runoff.

2023 Toxics 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Stereomicroscopic and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopic Characterization of the Abundance, Distribution and Composition of Microplastics in the Beaches of Qingdao, China

Microplastics were found on two beaches in Qingdao, China at varying concentrations, with fibers as the most common type. The study used FTIR spectroscopy to identify polymer types including polyester and polypropylene, contributing to the global picture of beach microplastic contamination.

2020 Analytical Letters 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Evidence of small microplastics (<100 μm) ingestion by Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas): A novel method of extraction, purification, and analysis using Micro-FTIR

Researchers developed a novel extraction, purification, and micro-FTIR analysis method to detect small microplastics under 100 micrometers in Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas), confirming ingestion of these smaller particles and finding that existing methods routinely miss this size fraction due to inadequate tissue digestion protocols.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Sources and fate of microplastics in marine and beach sediments of the Southern Baltic Sea—a preliminary study

Researchers investigated microplastic sources and distribution in marine and beach sediments of the southern Baltic Sea — one of the most polluted regional seas — using density extraction and FT-IR identification. The study found widespread contamination with significant variability tied to local sources and hydrodynamic transport patterns.

2017 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 320 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastiche: classificazione, identificazione e rimozione all'interno degli impianti di trattamento delle acque reflue

This Italian-language paper reviews how microplastics are classified, identified using techniques like FTIR spectroscopy, and removed in wastewater treatment plants. Conventional treatment plants remove a substantial portion of microplastics but still allow many particles to pass through into the environment. The review calls for better treatment technologies and standardized methods to assess microplastic removal efficiency.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Detecting small microplastics down to 1.3 μm using large area ATR-FTIR

Researchers introduced large-area ATR-FTIR spectroscopy as a new technique capable of detecting microplastics as small as 1.3 micrometers, outperforming conventional micro-FTIR for small particle detection in marine water samples.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 23 citations