Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Development and testing of a fractionated filtration for sampling of microplastics in water

Researchers developed and tested a fractionated filtration system for sampling microplastics in water bodies, proposing a standardized sampling concept that accounts for plastic-specific properties to improve comparability of microplastic data across different studies and environments.

2018 Water Research 101 citations
Article Tier 2

A Novel Application of Filtration for the Collection of Microplastics in Waterways

Researchers developed a novel filtration system for collecting microplastics from waterways, demonstrating its effectiveness as a scalable and practical tool for environmental monitoring and plastic pollution assessment.

2024 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Assessing diversity, abundance, and mass of microplastics (~ 1–300 μm) in aquatic systems

Researchers developed improved methods for quantifying very small microplastic particles (roughly 1 to 300 micrometers) in freshwater systems, showing that conventional sampling dramatically underestimates plastic particle counts. Accurately measuring this smaller size fraction is critical for understanding real-world microplastic concentrations and their biological impacts.

2021 Limnology and Oceanography Methods 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of continuous flow centrifugation as an alternative technique to sample microplastic from water bodies

Continuous flow centrifugation was tested as an alternative to traditional net trawling for sampling microplastics from water bodies and showed promising results, particularly for capturing smaller particles. Standardizing sampling methods is a critical step toward making microplastic studies more comparable across labs and locations.

2019 Marine Environmental Research 59 citations
Article Tier 2

A novel method enabling the accurate quantification of microplastics in the water column of deep ocean

A new sampling method was developed to accurately measure microplastics in the deep ocean water column, addressing gaps left by traditional net trawls that miss very small particles. Reliable deep-sea sampling is critical since the deep ocean is thought to be a major sink for global microplastic pollution.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Small-Scale Model Experiments on Plastic Fragment Removal from Water Flows Using Multiple Filters in a Floating Body

Researchers designed small-scale floating filter devices to remove plastic fragments from water flow, testing multiple filter configurations in laboratory experiments. Physical filtration of plastic particles from water offers a practical approach to preventing microplastic accumulation in aquatic environments.

2023 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Article Tier 2

Development and validation of a low-cost modular in-line filtration apparatus for high-volume microplastic sampling in groundwater wells

Researchers designed a low-cost (~$120) all-metal filtration system to collect microplastics from groundwater wells, capable of filtering over 500 liters per well with up to 96% particle recovery. The device addresses a major gap in monitoring — most microplastic sampling tools are too expensive or plastic-contaminated to work reliably in groundwater.

2026 Microplastics and Nanoplastics
Article Tier 2

Abundance and distribution of microplastics in surface waters of the Kattegat/ Skagerrak (Denmark)

Researchers measured microplastic concentrations in surface waters of the Kattegat/Skagerrak area near Denmark using a specialized pump-filter device capable of capturing particles as small as 10 micrometers. They found concentrations ranging from 11 to 87 particles per cubic meter, with 88 percent of the microplastics being smaller than 300 micrometers. The study demonstrates that standard monitoring nets miss the vast majority of marine microplastics due to their inability to capture smaller particles.

2022 Environmental Pollution 53 citations
Article Tier 2

How to detect small microplastics (20–100 μm) in freshwater, municipal wastewaters and landfill leachates? A trial from sampling to identification

Researchers developed a novel method for detecting small microplastics (20-100 micrometers) in freshwater, municipal wastewaters, and landfill leachates, combining a customized plankton sampler with a dual filter system to improve particle capture and pretreatment. Application revealed that excluding small microplastics from quantification introduces large biases, particularly in high-strength wastewaters like landfill leachates.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 94 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of microplastics sediment sampling techniques—efficiency of common methods and new approaches

Researchers tested how well common sediment sampling tools capture microplastics in riverbeds and found that standard grab samplers and corers lose fine, low-density particles — the very type that microplastics tend to be. A combination of methods is needed for accurate measurements, and freeze coring shows promise as a more reliable future technique.

2022 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Are we underestimating microplastic abundance in the marine environment? A comparison of microplastic capture with nets of different mesh-size

By sampling marine water simultaneously with 333 µm and finer nets, researchers demonstrated that standard 333 µm sampling nets miss the majority of microplastics present, with finer nets capturing orders of magnitude more particles and revealing severe underestimation in existing abundance data.

2020 Environmental Pollution 491 citations
Article Tier 2

The determination of microplastic contamination in freshwater environments using sampling methods – A case study

Polish researchers compared different net sizes and sampling volumes for collecting microplastics from freshwater lakes and found that fine nets (20 micrometer mesh) are essential for capturing the smallest plastic fibers, and that sampling larger volumes risks clogging in nutrient-rich water, leading to underestimates of contamination. The study is the first in Poland to demonstrate these methodological effects on microplastic abundance estimates and provides practical guidance for designing more accurate freshwater monitoring programs.

2023 Journal of Water and Land Development 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of vertical distribution characteristics of microplastics under 20 μm in lake and river waters in South Korea

Researchers developed a method for measuring very small microplastics (under 20 µm) in lake and river waters in South Korea and found they were widely distributed across different depths. Smaller microplastics are harder to sample and are largely missed by standard net-based methods. The study emphasizes that conventional monitoring approaches likely undercount microplastic contamination in freshwater systems.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Assessing the Impact of Shipping on Microplastic Concentration of Filtered Samples

Researchers evaluated the influence of different shipping and packaging methods on microplastic recovery rates from metal filters, using water samples spiked with polyethylene spheres to assess whether filtering and mailing samples in metal tins could serve as a standardized transport method for microplastics research.

2025
Article Tier 2

High-Efficiency Microplastic Sampling Device Improved Using CFD Analysis

This study used computational fluid dynamics analysis to redesign a microplastic water sampling device, improving its hydrodynamic performance and collection efficiency to address the lack of standardized sampling equipment for environmental microplastic monitoring.

2023 Sustainability 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Improved microplastic processing from complex biological samples using a customized vacuum filtration apparatus

Researchers developed a customized vacuum filtration apparatus to improve the processing of microplastics from complex biological marine samples, addressing longstanding methodological barriers in accurately separating and quantifying particles smaller than 5 mm. The system aims to reduce contamination and sample loss that have hindered standardization across microplastic monitoring studies in both abiotic and biotic compartments.

2022 Limnology and Oceanography Methods 10 citations
Article Tier 2

A Nanoplastic Sampling and Enrichment Approach by Continuous Flow Centrifugation

This study developed a continuous flow centrifugation method for sampling and concentrating nanoplastics from water, achieving enrichment efficiencies over 90% for particles smaller than 1 micrometer. This sampling approach addresses a critical technical gap: the difficulty of detecting and quantifying nanoplastics that are too small for conventional filtration methods.

2020 Frontiers in Environmental Science 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Sub-sampling strategies for analysis of small (<20 µm) microplastics in water

This study tested different methods for measuring very small microplastics (under 20 micrometers) in drinking water and found that analyzing too small a portion of a sample can lead to large errors when estimating total contamination. They determined that researchers need to analyze at least 6-8% of the total filter area to keep errors below 17%. Accurate measurement methods are critical because the smallest microplastics are the most abundant in drinking water and are the most likely to enter human tissues.

2025 Water Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid Sand Filtration Technique for Remediation of Microplastics

Researchers tested rapid sand filtration as a technique for removing microplastics from water, evaluating particle removal efficiency across different plastic sizes, shapes, and filter media. The technique achieved meaningful microplastic reduction and was proposed as a practical water treatment enhancement.

2024 Microplastics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic quantification affected by structure and pore size of filters

Researchers demonstrated that the structure and pore size of filters used in microplastic research significantly affect quantification outcomes, finding that nylon double-layer-hole filters retained nearly all large microplastics while depth-filtration filters showed variable capture rates depending on particle size. The study highlights that filter choice is a critical methodological variable that can lead to inconsistent microplastic concentration estimates across studies.

2020 Chemosphere 104 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid Sampling of Suspended and Floating Microplastics in Challenging Riverine and Coastal Water Environments in Japan

Two newly developed compact sampling devices (Albatross Mark 5 and 6) collected microplastic samples from Japanese rivers and coastal waters in just 3 minutes compared to 10-60 minutes with conventional nets, while producing comparable concentration measurements. Polyethylene and polypropylene dominated, and particles became smaller from riverine to coastal environments.

2020 Water 56 citations
Article Tier 2

Is There a Difference in Yield? A Comparative Analysis of Microplastics Sampling Techniques in River Water with a Low-Velocity Flow

Researchers compared three microplastic sampling techniques in low-velocity river water, quantifying differences in particle abundance and characteristics to evaluate which method most accurately captures microplastic concentrations in surface water environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

A Peristaltic Pump and Filter-Based Method for Aqueous Microplastic Sampling and Analysis

Researchers developed and validated a peristaltic pump and in-line stainless-steel mesh filter method for aqueous microplastic sampling, testing it with polyethylene beads in the laboratory and at two sites in the Las Vegas Wash, Nevada. They achieved 70% bead recovery with minimal contamination, and the method supported variable sample volumes, reduced handling, and enabled direct micro-FTIR transmission analysis of filter-mounted particles.

2022 ACS ES&T Water 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Microfluidic Detection and Analysis of Microplastics Using Surface Nanodroplets

Researchers developed a microfluidic device that uses tiny surface droplets to capture and analyze microplastics as small as 10 micrometers from water samples. The captured particles can be examined under a microscope and identified by type using Raman spectroscopy without removing them from the device. The method offers a simpler, faster, and more affordable way to detect small microplastics compared to conventional filtration techniques.

2024 ACS Sensors 26 citations