Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Application of nuclear techniques to environmental plastics research

This review examines how nuclear techniques — including neutron activation analysis and isotope tracing — can be applied to environmental plastics research to trace polymer sources, measure contaminant uptake, and study degradation pathways. Nuclear methods offer unique analytical capabilities for addressing specific questions about microplastic behavior that conventional approaches cannot resolve.

2018 Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of nuclear analysis for bioaccumulation of microplastics with iodine-131 in marine organisms

Researchers developed a method using iodine-131 labeled polystyrene to track microplastic accumulation in mangrove plants and milkfish through nuclear analysis. They found that both organisms absorbed the labeled microplastics, with accumulation patterns varying between plant roots and fish tissue. The study demonstrates that radiotracer techniques can be a valuable tool for understanding how microplastics move through marine food chains.

2024 World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences 2 citations
Review Tier 2

Marine microplastics fuel long-range transport of radioactive nuclides: A review

This review examines how marine microplastics adsorb radioactive nuclides and transport them over long distances, discussing the implications of plastic-facilitated radionuclide dispersal for ocean monitoring and the compounding environmental risks from co-occurring plastic and nuclear contamination.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular Imaging, Radiochemistry, and Environmental Pollutants

This review examines how molecular imaging and radiotracer chemistry techniques can be used to track how environmental pollutants — including plastics-related chemicals — move through living bodies at very low, realistic concentrations. These methods can reveal where pollutants accumulate in tissues and how quickly they are processed or retained, providing data that traditional toxicology studies miss. The authors highlight the potential of these tools to better characterize the health risks posed by emerging contaminants like microplastic-associated chemicals.

2023 Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2 citations
Article Tier 2

A new approach to extracting biofilm from environmental plastics using ultrasound-assisted syringe treatment for isotopic analyses

Researchers developed an ultrasound-assisted syringe extraction method for recovering biofilms from environmental plastic debris, enabling stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and radiocesium quantification, and found that river-mouth plastisphere biofilms in Japan carried up to 820 Bq/kg of radiocesium, demonstrating that plastic-associated biofilms can serve as vectors for radionuclide transport in coastal environments.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Unfolding the interaction of radioactive Cs and Sr with polyethylene-derived microplastics in marine environment

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics in the marine environment interact with radioactive cesium and strontium. They found that as microplastics age in seawater and develop biofilms, their ability to absorb these radioactive elements increases significantly. The study provides evidence that microplastics could act as previously unrecognized carriers of radioactive contamination in ocean environments.

2024 Discover Oceans 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as vectors of radioiodine in the marine environment: A study on sorption and interaction mechanism

Researchers investigated microplastics as potential vectors of radioiodine in the marine environment, finding that different polymer types exhibited varying sorption capacities for radioiodine, revealing a previously unstudied pathway for radionuclide transport.

2022 Environmental Pollution 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Bioaccumulation by Tiger Snail (Babylonia spirata): Application of Nuclear Technique Capability using Polystyrene Labelled with Radiotracer 65Zn

Researchers used radiotracer-labeled polystyrene microplastics to quantify bioaccumulation in tiger snails (Babylonia spirata), demonstrating that nuclear techniques can effectively track microplastic uptake in marine organisms and revealing size-dependent accumulation patterns.

2023 ILMU KELAUTAN Indonesian Journal of Marine Sciences 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm-enhanced adsorption of strong and weak cations onto different microplastic sample types: Use of spectroscopy, microscopy and radiotracer methods

Researchers used radiotracer, spectroscopy, and microscopy methods to show that biofilm-coated environmental plastics adsorb radioactive cesium and strontium — radionuclides associated with nuclear releases — though at rates much lower than natural sediments, confirming that plastics act as a minor but measurable sink for environmental radioactivity.

2019 Water Research 146 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of a polystyrene-based microplastic model for bioaccumulation and biodistribution study using radiotracing and nuclear analysis method

Researchers developed a radiolabeled polystyrene microplastic model to track how microplastics move through and accumulate in living organisms. The study suggests that using radioactive tracers like iodine-131 allows for real-time, sensitive monitoring of microplastic behavior in biological systems, offering a more efficient alternative to conventional tracking methods.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 8 citations
Article Tier 2

The application of nuclear technique for measuring the bioaccumulation of microplastic in oyster (Crassostera Gigas)

Researchers used nuclear techniques with radioiodine (131I)-labeled polystyrene to measure the bioaccumulation of microplastics in Pacific oysters (Crassostera gigas), examining how salinity levels and microplastic concentrations affect bioaccumulation and elimination kinetics using a single-compartment biokinetic model.

2025 Radiochimica Acta
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-radionuclide complexes: Diffusion mechanisms and multidimensional threats

This review examined how microplastics can bind with radioactive materials in the ocean, creating microplastic-radionuclide complexes that spread contamination across regions. Researchers found that microplastics facilitate the long-distance transport of radionuclides, while the radiation can intensify the toxic effects of the plastic particles on marine organisms. The combined threat is particularly relevant given ongoing concerns about radioactive wastewater discharge into marine environments.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Labelling of micro- and nanoplastics for environmental studies: state-of-the-art and future challenges

Researchers reviewed labelling techniques used to track micro- and nanoplastics in environmental studies, categorizing them into fluorescent, metal, stable isotope, and radioisotope methods. The study found that fluorescent labelling works well for tracking microplastics while metal labelling is more sensitive for nanoplastics research, though a major challenge remains in developing techniques that do not alter the inherent properties of the plastic particles being studied.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of Radon Concentrations in Marine Biota of the Iraqi Marine Environment

This is not a microplastics research paper; it is an environmental radioactivity study measuring radon-222 concentrations in fish, bivalves, and shrimp from Iraqi marine environments using solid-state nuclear track detectors.

2026 ILMU KELAUTAN Indonesian Journal of Marine Sciences
Article Tier 2

Research progress on sources, harms and countermeasures of marine pollution

This review explores three major categories of marine pollution: nuclear contamination from Japan's nuclear power plant discharges, ocean acidification from rising carbon dioxide levels, and microplastic pollution. Researchers discuss the harms each poses to marine ecosystems and human health, along with proposed countermeasures. The study calls for international cooperation, stricter oversight, and innovation in detection and removal technologies to protect the global ocean environment.

2024 E3S Web of Conferences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Technical Cooperation Programme to Build Countries’ Capacities for Science-Based Sustainable Marine Management

This article describes the International Atomic Energy Agency's Technical Cooperation Programme, which for over 60 years has transferred nuclear and related technologies to member states in areas including environmental monitoring—with relevance to tracking marine microplastic contamination using isotopic and tracer techniques.

2025 Oceanography
Article Tier 2

Radiolabeling of Micro-/Nanoplastics via In-Diffusion

Researchers developed a radiolabeling method for micro- and nanoplastics by introducing a 64Cu radiotracer into common plastics including polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and others via an in-diffusion technique. The approach provides a sensitive and selective detection strategy for tracking plastic particles in complex ecological media, addressing a key challenge in environmental impact research.

2023 Nanomaterials 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Unfolding the interaction of radioactive Cs and Sr with polyethylene-derived microplastics in marine environment

A mesocosm study examined how radioactive cesium and strontium interact with pristine, radiation-exposed, and marine-weathered polyethylene microplastics, finding that environmental aging—through biofilm formation and surface roughening—significantly increased the plastic particles' capacity to sorb radioactive contaminants.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

13C-labeled nanoplastic model materials: Synthesis and evaluation of their use in ecotoxicology through bioaccumulation studies in aquatic crustaceans

Researchers developed carbon-13 labeled nanoplastic particles as a new tool for accurately tracking and measuring nanoplastics in living organisms. By combining stable isotope labeling with mass spectrometry, they could detect nanoplastics in complex biological samples like brine shrimp without the extensive sample preparation that current methods require. The approach provides a more reliable way to study how nanoplastics accumulate in aquatic food chains.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Technetium-99m labelled amine-functionalized polystyrene microplastics: An innovative approach for environmental and biological studies

Researchers radiolabelled amino-functionalized polystyrene microplastics with technetium-99m, achieving 96% labelling efficiency and strong in vitro stability in aquatic media, providing a sensitive radiotracer platform for precisely tracking microplastic distribution in environmental and biological systems.

2026 Applied Radiation and Isotopes
Article Tier 2

An effective method to assess the sorption dynamics of PCB radiotracers onto plastic and sediment microparticles

Scientists developed a radiotracer method using PCB isotopes to precisely measure how quickly toxic chemicals sorb onto microplastics and sediment particles in seawater. Understanding sorption-desorption rates is critical for predicting how much toxic chemical exposure marine organisms receive from microplastic ingestion.

2021 MethodsX 11 citations
Article Tier 2

From the synthesis of labeled nanoplastic model materials (isotopic and metallic) to their use in ecotoxicological studies with the detection and quantification analytical methods.

Researchers synthesized isotopically and metallically labeled nanoplastic model materials to enable tracking and quantification of plastic nanoparticles in complex biological and environmental matrices at trace concentrations. The labeled models supported mechanistic studies of nanoplastic fate and exposure by allowing detection at environmentally relevant concentrations not achievable with conventional unlabeled particles.

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

Iodine-131 radiolabeled polyvinylchloride: A potential radiotracer for micro and nanoplastics bioaccumulation and biodistribution study in organisms

Researchers developed a method to radiolabel polyvinyl chloride with iodine-131 for use as a radiotracer to study microplastic bioaccumulation and biodistribution in organisms. The study demonstrated successful preparation of radiolabeled PVC particles, offering a highly sensitive nuclear technique for tracking the fate of micro- and nanoplastics in biological systems.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 22 citations
Article Tier 2

From the synthesis of labeled nanoplastic model materials (isotopic and metallic) to their use in ecotoxicological studies with the detection and quantification analytical methods.

This study developed labeled nanoplastic model materials using isotopic and metallic tracers to enable tracking and quantification of nanoplastics in complex biological and environmental matrices at environmentally relevant concentrations. Labeled particles allowed localization and measurement of nanoplastics at levels not detectable by conventional methods, advancing mechanistic exposure studies.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)