Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Fast and easy quantification of semi-crystalline microplastics in exemplary environmental matrices by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)

This study demonstrated that differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) can quantify semi-crystalline microplastics (PE, PET, PP, PA6) in environmental matrices, with pre-heating steps improving detection accuracy and reducing interference from organic impurities.

2021 Chemical Engineering Journal 75 citations
Article Tier 2

A facile approach to microplastic identification and quantification using differential scanning calorimetry

Researchers developed a simpler differential scanning calorimetry method to identify and quantify six types of semi-crystalline microplastic polymers in water samples, offering a lower-cost alternative to μFTIR that also provides mass concentration data.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling microplastic with polyethylene (PE) spherical particles: a differential scanning calorimetry approach for quantification

Researchers developed a thermal analysis approach to detect and quantify polyethylene microplastics in environmental samples, offering an alternative to optical methods. Accurate quantification tools are essential for understanding the true scale of microplastic contamination in soil and water.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC): An important tool for polymer identification and characterization of plastic marine debris

Researchers optimized a differential scanning calorimetry method for identifying plastic polymers in marine debris and built a reference library from over 200 polymer standards. They established temperature-based criteria for distinguishing between similar plastic types that are often confused during visual identification. The study provides a practical, reliable tool for improving the accuracy of polymer identification in plastic pollution research.

2024 Environmental Pollution 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification and Quantification of Microplastics in Effluents of Wastewater Treatment Plant by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

Researchers used differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to identify and quantify microplastics including polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, and PET in effluents from three wastewater treatment plants. Plants with only preliminary treatment removed less than 58% of microplastics, while those with secondary activated sludge treatment achieved 90 to 96.9% removal efficiency.

2022 Sustainability 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Regression analysis for the determination of microplastics in sediments using differential scanning calorimetry

Researchers developed a differential scanning calorimetry method for rapid identification and quantification of microplastics in sediment samples. The study demonstrated that this thermo-analytical approach could detect multiple polymer types including polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET in sand samples, offering a faster and more cost-efficient alternative to traditional microplastic analysis methods.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification and morphological characterization of different types of plastic microparticles

Researchers used multiple complementary techniques to identify and characterize the morphology and polymer composition of different types of plastic microparticles. They compared methods including optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and spectroscopic analysis to evaluate their reliability. The study provides practical guidance for standardizing microplastic identification protocols, which is important for producing comparable results across different research laboratories.

2024 Heliyon 19 citations
Article Tier 2

A semi-automated Raman micro-spectroscopy method for morphological and chemical characterizations of microplastic litter

Researchers developed a semi-automated Raman micro-spectroscopy method coupled with static image analysis for characterizing microplastics, achieving morphological and chemical identification of over 1,000 particles in under three hours, with polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene as the dominant types in the environmental sample.

2016 Marine Pollution Bulletin 176 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of marine microplastics in Eastern Harbor, Mediterranean Coast of Egypt, using differential scanning calorimetry

Researchers applied differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for the first time to identify microplastics in marine sediments from Eastern Harbor on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, demonstrating it as a cost-effective complement to conventional spectroscopic identification methods.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of automated microplastic identification workflow for Raman micro-imaging and evaluation of the uncertainties during micro-imaging

Researchers developed an automated identification workflow for Raman micro-imaging of microplastics, validating it with artificial samples of known polymer microspheres and showing that the workflow reliably identifies plastic type and estimates particle size across a range of sizes.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification of microplastics in complex environmental matrices using a tiered approach with modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC)

Researchers developed a method using modulated differential scanning calorimetry to quantify microplastics in biosolids and soil, achieving 1.4-2.5 times higher sensitivity than conventional thermal analysis with detection limits as low as 7 micrograms per gram. They demonstrated an average recovery rate of 93% for four common plastic types extracted from biosolid samples. The study suggests this thermal approach, combined with complementary spectroscopic techniques, provides a reliable and cost-effective tool for measuring microplastics in complex environmental samples.

2025 Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) approach for assessing the quality of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste for physical recycling: a proof-of-concept study

Researchers developed a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) method to assess the quality of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste for physical recycling by correlating thermophysical properties with material history, offering a way to distinguish high-quality from degraded PET before recycling. Improving feedstock quality assessment could increase the efficiency and output quality of PET recycling processes.

2023 Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of electrostatic separation and differential scanning calorimetry for microplastic analysis in river sediments

Researchers developed a combined method integrating electrostatic separation, density separation, and differential scanning calorimetry for microplastic analysis in river sediments, demonstrating that the approach can process 100-1000 g sample masses and achieved 98% mass reduction in sand matrices and 70-78% in sediments before DSC polymer identification.

2022 Frontiers in Environmental Science 17 citations
Article Tier 2

A comparison of microscopic and spectroscopic identification methods for analysis of microplastics in environmental samples

Researchers compared microscopic and spectroscopic methods for analyzing microplastics in environmental samples, evaluating accuracy and efficiency and finding that spectroscopic confirmation substantially reduces misidentification errors.

2015 Marine Pollution Bulletin 820 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on primary microplastics in cosmetics: their isolation, spectral and thermal analysis

Researchers analyzed eight personal care and cosmetic products to isolate and characterize intentionally added microplastics. They found that the standard combination of FTIR and Raman spectroscopy was not always sufficient for accurate detection, and that thermal analysis via DSC proved particularly useful for identifying microplastics when spectroscopic methods fell short.

2025 Analytical Methods 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Determination of microplastic polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) in environmental samples using thermal analysis (TGA-DSC)

This study developed a thermal analysis method using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to determine the mass concentration of polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics in environmental samples. The approach is cost-effective and straightforward, offering an alternative to the more expensive spectroscopic methods commonly used for microplastic identification.

2016 The Science of The Total Environment 404 citations
Article Tier 2

Classification of (micro)plastics using cathodoluminescence and machine learning

Researchers combined scanning electron microscopy with cathodoluminescence spectroscopy and machine learning to classify six common plastic types including HDPE, LDPE, PP, PA, PS, and PET at the nanoscale. Each plastic type produced a unique cathodoluminescence signature enabling classification of micro- and nanoplastics too small for conventional infrared or Raman spectroscopy.

2022 Talanta 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification and quantification of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polyesters and microplastics by combining mild chemical depolymerization with dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA) and MALDI FTICR & LC ESI Orbitrap mass spectrometry analysis

Researchers developed an analytical method combining mild chemical depolymerization with dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA) and dual mass spectrometry (MALDI FTICR and LC ESI Orbitrap) for identifying and quantifying PET polyesters and microplastics at the molecular level, overcoming limitations of conventional optical spectroscopy and Py-GC-MS techniques.

2025
Article Tier 2

Dual-method analysis of microplastics in lake and wastewater treatment effluents: comparison of micro-FTIR and differential scanning calorimetry technique

Researchers compared micro-FTIR and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for detecting microplastics in lake water and wastewater treatment effluents, finding that both methods showed similar pollution trends but differed in specific results, with micro-FTIR identifying polymer types and DSC providing superior mass quantification from large-volume samples.

2025 Water Research X
Article Tier 2

The marine nano- and microplastics characterisation by SEM-EDX: The potential of the method in comparison with various physical and chemical approaches

Scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) was evaluated as a method for characterizing marine micro- and nanoplastics, and compared with optical, spectroscopic, and chemical approaches. The study finds that SEM-EDX offers complementary information on particle morphology and surface chemistry that aids in identifying plastic particles at small sizes.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 236 citations
Article Tier 2

High-performance micro/nanoplastics characterization by MALDI-FTICR mass spectrometry

Researchers developed a MALDI-FTICR mass spectrometry method for high-precision chemical identification of micro- and nanoplastics, demonstrating unambiguous characterization of multiple polymer types including polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate even at very small particle sizes.

2022 Chemosphere 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Automated Quantification of Microplastics – Challenges and Opportunities

Researchers developed an image analysis algorithm to automate microplastic quantification in soil and organic fertilizers by analyzing heated samples where plastics visibly melt, finding preliminary results broadly consistent with FPA-microFTIR validation but with a tendency to overcount elongated or irregularly shaped particles.

2022
Article Tier 2

Development of a novel semi-automated analytical system of microplastics using reflectance-FTIR spectrometry: designed for the analysis of large microplastics

A semi-automated reflectance-FTIR spectrometry system was developed for microplastic analysis, designed specifically for large microplastics and capable of dramatically accelerating the otherwise labor-intensive identification process while maintaining accuracy in polymer type determination.

2025 Environmental Science Advances 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Methods and challenges in the detection of microplastics and nanoplastics: a mini‐review

This review evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of analytical methods used to detect and identify microplastics and nanoplastics, including microscopy, spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry techniques. Researchers identified key challenges such as distinguishing genuine environmental microplastics from contamination introduced during sample collection and processing. The study provides recommendations for improving data quality and reliability in microplastic research.

2021 Polymer International 177 citations