Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Photothermal Infrared Imaging of Nanoplastics in Human Cells with Nanoscale Resolution

Researchers demonstrated a new photothermal infrared imaging technique capable of detecting and localizing nanoplastics inside individual human cells at nanoscale resolution. The study found that polystyrene nanoparticles accumulated around cell nuclei, and that this advanced imaging approach overcomes the spatial resolution limitations of conventional infrared spectroscopy for tracking nanoplastics in biological tissues.

2025 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection ofUnlabeled Polystyrene Micro- and Nanoplasticsin Mammalian Tissue by Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy

Researchers evaluated optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy for detecting unlabeled polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics down to 200 nm in mammalian kidney tissues and 3D cell cultures. O-PTIR outperformed conventional FTIR in spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio, and machine learning accelerated particle detection with minimal human error.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Label-free nano- and microplastics detection in mammalian tissue by photothermal infrared spectroscopy

Researchers applied optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy to detect and identify nano- and microplastics smaller than 1 µm in mammalian tissue sections without requiring labels or lengthy digestion protocols. The method successfully localized polystyrene particles in tissue samples with chemical specificity, offering a faster workflow for nanoplastic detection in biological matrices.

2025
Article Tier 2

Detection of Unlabeled Micro- and Nanoplastics in Unstained Tissue with Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy

Researchers demonstrated that optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy can detect unlabeled micro- and nanoplastics as small as 250 nanometers in mammalian tissue samples without staining or labeling. The technique significantly outperformed traditional FTIR spectroscopy in spatial resolution and signal quality when imaging particles in complex biological matrices. The study also introduced a semi-automated machine learning analysis to speed up detection, offering a powerful new tool for studying nanoplastic accumulation in tissues.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Label-Free Identification and Imaging of Microplastic and Nanoplastic Biouptake Using Optical Photothermal Infrared Microspectroscopy

Researchers developed a new imaging technique that can locate and identify microplastic and nanoplastic particles inside whole organisms without needing fluorescent labels. Using a method called optical photothermal infrared microscopy, they tracked polystyrene particles as small as 1 micrometer in roundworms. This tool could help scientists better understand how plastic particles are taken up by living things and where they accumulate in the body.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection of Unlabeled Polystyrene Micro- and Nanoplastics in Mammalian Tissue by Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy

Researchers demonstrated that a new imaging technique called O-PTIR spectroscopy can detect unlabeled plastic particles as small as 200 nanometers inside mammalian tissues without damaging the samples. Combined with machine learning for faster analysis, this method significantly outperforms traditional infrared spectroscopy for finding nanoplastics in biological tissue. Better detection tools like this are essential for understanding how much plastic actually accumulates in human organs.

2025 Analytical Chemistry 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Optical photothermal infrared spectroscopic assessment of microplastics in tissue models and non-digested human tissue sections

Researchers developed a method using optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy to detect and map microplastics directly within tissue sections without requiring chemical or enzymatic digestion. The study suggests this approach preserves spatial information about where microplastics are located within tissue architecture, overcoming a key limitation of conventional digestion-based methods that can lose some particles.

2026 The Analyst
Article Tier 2

Vibrational photothermal imaging from single molecules to human subjects (Conference Presentation)

This conference presentation reviews vibrational photothermal microscopy—a label-free technique using infrared pump and visible probe beams—as a tool for imaging chemical bonds in biological systems including bacteria, cells, and organisms. The technique enables real-time chemical mapping without fluorescent labels and has been applied to detect micro- and nanoplastics in biological tissues.

2025
Article Tier 2

Single-Particle Analysis of the Photodegradation of Submicron Polystyrene Particles Using Infrared Photothermal Heterodyne Imaging.

Researchers used a new infrared imaging technique to observe how submicron polystyrene particles physically and chemically degrade under UV light, finding significant chemical changes within just 6 hours. This is one of the first methods capable of tracking photodegradation of very small plastic particles, improving our understanding of how nanoplastics form and age in the environment.

2024 Environmental science & technology
Article Tier 2

Photothermal Heterodyne Imaging of Micron Sized Objects

Researchers tested a sensitive imaging technique called photothermal heterodyne imaging to detect and visualize micron-sized polymer beads similar in size to microplastic particles. The method shows promise as a non-destructive way to detect and characterize small plastic particles in various environments.

2023
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics in tap water by optical photothermal infrared

Researchers used optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy to characterize microplastics in tap water, identifying particles as small as a few micrometers that conventional FTIR techniques cannot resolve. The higher detection sensitivity revealed that microplastic concentrations in drinking water are likely underestimated by standard methods.

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

Using Infrared Photothermal Heterodyne Imaging to Characterize Micro- and Nanoplastics in Complex Environmental Matrices

Researchers introduced infrared photothermal heterodyne imaging (IR-PHI) as a 300 nm resolution technique for identifying and quantifying micro- and nanoplastics in complex environmental matrices, demonstrating its application to nylon tea bag leachates and sediment samples.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 37 citations
Review Tier 2

Analysing micro- and nanoplastics with cutting-edge infrared spectroscopy techniques: a critical review

This review evaluates cutting-edge infrared spectroscopy techniques for detecting and analyzing micro- and nanoplastics in environmental and food samples. Better detection methods are crucial for understanding human exposure because they allow scientists to measure smaller particles more accurately, including nanoplastics that are small enough to cross biological barriers and accumulate in human tissues.

2024 Analytical Methods 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Localisation and identification of polystyrene particles in tissue sections using Raman spectroscopic imaging

Researchers developed a Raman spectroscopic imaging method to localize and identify polystyrene microplastic particles directly within tissue sections, enabling in-situ detection without fluorescent labeling and making environmental sample analysis feasible.

2023 NanoImpact 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Picogram-Level Nanoplastic Analysis with Nanoelectromechanical System Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy: NEMS-FTIR

Researchers developed a NEMS-FTIR approach combining nanoelectromechanical systems with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for chemical characterization and quantification of nanoplastics, achieving picogram-level detection limits ranging from 101 to 353 pg for polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics with diameters from 54 to 262 nm.

2025 ArXiv.org
Article Tier 2

Raman-spektroskopische Charakterisierung von Zellen und Gewebe nach Exposition mit Nanoplastik

Researchers exposed human monocytic THP-1 cells, trophoblasts, and placenta cells to primary and secondary nanoplastic particles at 100 particles/cell in sizes of 200 nm and 60 nm, then used confocal laser scanning microscopy and Raman microspectroscopy to locate and characterize intracellular nanoplastics.

2022 LIBDOC - Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau
Article Tier 2

Photothermal radiometric image identification of microplastics through near-infrared excitation

Researchers demonstrated near-infrared photothermal radiometric imaging as a rapid tool for identifying and visualizing different microplastic types, using excitation wavelengths in the 1662-1725 nm range specific to polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and polypropylene. Each plastic type in a 2 mm square area was distinguishable after 20 seconds of irradiation using a commercially available thermal camera.

2025 Analytical Sciences
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

Chemical characterization of microplastics from biosolids: a comparison of FTIR and O-PTIR microspectroscopy

Researchers compared conventional FTIR microspectroscopy with the emerging Optical Photothermal Infrared (O-PTIR) technique for chemical characterization and polymer-type identification of microplastics extracted from biosolids, finding that O-PTIR's submicron resolution and artifact-free spectra offer advantages over traditional methods.

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

Optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy with simultaneously acquired Raman spectroscopy for two-dimensional microplastic identification

Researchers demonstrated that optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy combined with simultaneous Raman acquisition enables more reliable two-dimensional microplastic identification, overcoming limitations of individual FTIR or Raman techniques alone.

2022 Scientific Reports 109 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics in tap water by optical photothermal infrared

Researchers characterized microplastics in tap water using optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy, a technique that can identify particles smaller than 10 micrometers with high chemical specificity. The method detected a broader range of particle sizes than conventional FTIR microscopy, revealing higher microplastic concentrations in tap water than previously reported.

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

A tutorial on optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) microscopy

This tutorial reviews optical photothermal infrared microscopy, a technique that achieves up to 30 times better spatial resolution than conventional infrared imaging. Researchers describe how this method enables chemical identification of materials at the sub-micrometer scale, with applications ranging from biomedical research to microplastics detection. The technology is particularly valuable for environmental scientists who need to identify and characterize extremely small plastic particles in complex samples.

2024 APL Photonics 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling Hidden Threats: Introduction of a Routine Workflow for Label-Free and Non-destructive Detection of Microplastics in Human FFPE Tissue Sections

Researchers developed a new workflow using mid-infrared photothermal microscopy to detect and identify microplastic particles directly in preserved human colon tissue sections. The method allows non-destructive, label-free identification of polymer types within tissue without special sample preparation. The study introduces a practical approach that could enable routine screening for microplastics in human tissues during standard medical examinations.

2025 2 citations
Article Tier 2

IdentifyingMicroplastics in Laboratory and AtmosphericAerosol Mixtures via Optical Photothermal Infrared and Raman Microspectroscopy

This study applied optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy to identify microplastics in atmospheric aerosol mixtures, demonstrating that the technique can distinguish plastic particles by polymer type in complex air samples relevant to understanding human inhalation exposure to airborne MPs.

2025 Figshare