Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Optical parameter sensing: sensitivity limits and the advantages of using spatial modes of light

This study explored how spatial light modes can improve precision and sensitivity in optical measurement systems beyond the limits of conventional techniques. Advanced optical sensing methods including those using spatial light modes are being applied to improve microplastic detection at very small particle sizes.

2023
Article Tier 2

Detection of microplastics and nanoplastics: Are Raman tweezers and enhanced Raman methods the solution for sub 20 μm particles?

Raman tweezers — devices that use a laser beam to trap and analyze individual particles — combined with plasmonic enhancement techniques can detect and characterize nanoplastics and microplastics smaller than 20 µm, a size range that defeats most conventional filtration-based detection methods. Improving detection sensitivity for the smallest plastic particles is critical because nanoplastics are thought to be the most biologically active fraction, capable of crossing cell membranes and accumulating in tissues.

2024 EPJ Web of Conferences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Droplet-based Opto-microfluidic Device for Microplastic Sensing in Aqueous Solutions

Researchers developed a microfluidic device using light to detect plastic microspheres in water droplets, offering a new tool for identifying microplastic contamination in aquatic environments.

2023
Article Tier 2

A metal-insulator-metal waveguide-based plasmonic refractive index sensor for the detection of nanoplastics in water

Researchers designed a light-based sensor using a metal-insulator-metal waveguide and square-ring resonator that can detect nanoplastics in water at extremely low concentrations by measuring tiny changes in how light bends through the sample. The optimized sensor achieved a sensitivity of 2700 nm/RIU, making it a promising tool for detecting minute levels of plastic contamination in water.

2024 Scientific Reports 18 citations
Article Tier 2

On-Chip Volume Refractometry and Optical Binding of Nanoplastics Colloids in a Stable Optofluidic Fabry–Pérot Microresonator

Researchers developed a miniaturized on-chip sensor using a Fabry-Perot microresonator to detect and analyze nanoplastic particles in liquid samples. The device uses changes in light refraction to measure the concentration of nanoplastic colloids and can even optically trap particles for closer study. This approach offers a potential lab-on-a-chip tool for rapid, sensitive detection of nanoplastics in environmental samples.

2026 Photonics
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Ultralow Limit of Detection for Aromatic/Hydrophobic Nanoplastics with Ultrasmall Size Enables an LSPR Optical Microfiber

Researchers developed an advanced optical microfiber sensor capable of detecting nanoplastics at ultra-low concentrations, significantly surpassing the sensitivity of existing detection methods. The sensor uses localized surface plasmon resonance to identify aromatic and hydrophobic nanoplastic particles of extremely small sizes. The technology could enable early environmental monitoring of nanoplastic contamination in real-world water samples where current methods fall short.

2026 Analytical Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Outlook on optical identification of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic environments

Researchers studied the optical properties of micro- and nanoplastics and evaluated near-infrared spectroscopy as a detection method for plastic particles in water, finding that optical techniques show promise for rapid, non-destructive identification. Improved optical detection methods could enable faster and more cost-effective monitoring of plastic pollution in aquatic environments.

2018 Chemosphere 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Optofluidic light-droplet interaction for rapidly assessing the presence of plastic microspheres within aqueous suspensions

Scientists developed a new device that can quickly detect tiny plastic particles (called microplastics) in water by shining light through water droplets and measuring how much light gets blocked. The device can spot extremely small amounts of plastic pollution - even particles smaller than the width of a human hair. This technology could help us better monitor plastic contamination in drinking water and the environment, which is important since these tiny plastics can harm both ecosystems and human health.

2026 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for the detection of microplastics

Researchers developed a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy method using gold nanoparticles to detect polystyrene microplastics at concentrations as low as 6.5 micrograms per milliliter, offering a new tool for detecting sub-micron plastic pollutants in water.

2022 Applied Surface Science 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Optofluidic light-droplet interaction for rapidly assessing the presence of plastic microspheres within aqueous suspensions

Scientists created a new device that can quickly detect tiny plastic particles (called microplastics) in water by shining light through water droplets and measuring changes in brightness. The device can spot extremely small amounts of plastic pollution - as little as 0.13 milligrams per gram of water. This technology could help us better monitor plastic contamination in our drinking water and environment, which is important since these tiny plastics can harm both ecosystems and human health.

2026 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Identification and visualisation of microplastics/ nanoplastics by Raman imaging (ii): Smaller than the diffraction limit of laser?

Researchers examined whether confocal Raman microscopy can identify and visualize nanoplastics smaller than the diffraction limit of the laser, analyzing the lateral intensity distribution of Raman signals from nanoplastics ranging from approximately 30 to 600 nm in diameter. The study found that while imaging resolution is limited by diffraction, chemical identification of sub-diffraction-limit nanoplastics remains possible.

2020 Water Research 112 citations
Article Tier 2

A prototype of a portable optical sensor for the detection of transparent and translucent microplastics in freshwater

Researchers developed a portable prototype optical sensor capable of detecting transparent and translucent microplastics in freshwater by simultaneously measuring specular laser light reflection and transmission, offering a feasibility pathway for field-deployable microplastic monitoring.

2019 Chemosphere 88 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of a multilevel micro/nano-plastics Infrared Spectroscopy using optical chopper modulation and induced anti-stokes shift techniques

Researchers designed a new infrared spectroscopy system combining optical modulation and laser techniques to detect nanoplastics and microplastics smaller than 10 micrometers — well below the 20-micrometer detection limit of most current instruments — potentially enabling more sensitive identification of the tiniest plastic particles in environmental samples.

2025 Results in Optics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Laser beam scattering for the detection of flat, curved, smooth, and rough microplastics in water

Researchers demonstrated that laser beam scattering using a low-cost prototype sensor can detect microplastic particles of varying shapes — flat, curved, smooth, and rough — in water, offering a potential foundation for affordable in-situ optical monitoring tools. The study advances understanding of light-microplastic interactions needed to design practical field detection systems.

2020 Optical Review 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantitative analysis of microplastics in water by Raman spectroscopy: influence of microplastic concentration on Raman scattering intensities

Researchers investigated quantitative Raman spectroscopy for detecting microplastics directly in water, finding that Raman scattering intensities varied with concentration for both PVC spheres (40-100 um) and PE spheres (40-48 um) dispersed in de-ionized water at 0.1-1.0 wt%.

2024
Article Tier 2

Direct Nanoplastics Detection Below the Diffraction Limit Using Micro Raman

Researchers demonstrated that micro-Raman spectroscopy can directly detect polystyrene nanoplastic particles as small as 20 nm — far below the normal diffraction limit. This advances analytical capabilities for detecting the smallest nanoplastic particles in environmental samples.

2023
Article Tier 2

Flow Raman Spectroscopy for the Detection and Identification of Small Microplastics

Researchers developed a new method using flow Raman spectroscopy to detect and identify individual microplastic particles as small as 4 micrometers while they move through water. Unlike current methods that require complex sample preparation, this technique could work in real time for monitoring food and drinking water quality. The method can distinguish between different plastic types even after they have been weathered by the environment.

2025 Sensors 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Measuring nanoparticles in liquid with attogram resolution using a microfabricated glass suspended microchannel resonator

Researchers built a miniature glass device called a suspended microchannel resonator that can weigh individual nanoparticles — including plastic particles as small as 243 nm — as they flow through a liquid channel, achieving detection limits of 377 attograms (trillionths of a millionth of a gram), enabling precise measurement of nanoplastics and other tiny particles.

2022 Microsystems & Nanoengineering 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic Analysis by Online Coupling of Raman Microscopy and Field-Flow Fractionation Enabled by Optical Tweezers

Researchers developed a new analytical technique for detecting nanoplastics by combining field-flow fractionation with online Raman microspectroscopy, using optical tweezers to trap particles and overcome weak scattering signals. The method successfully identified polymer and inorganic particles ranging from 200 nm to 5 micrometers at concentrations around 1 mg/L.

2020 Analytical Chemistry 151 citations
Article Tier 2

Photothermal Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Nanomechanical Resonators

This paper is not relevant to microplastics — it describes advances in nanomechanical photothermal microscopy and spectroscopy as analytical techniques for measuring light absorption at the nanoscale, with no application to plastic pollution.

2023 The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 13 citations
Article Tier 2

On optical sensing of surface roughness of flat and curved microplastics in water

Researchers developed and tested an optical sensor prototype capable of detecting microplastic particles of different shapes and surface textures in water by measuring light reflection patterns. The sensor offers a potential path to faster, in-situ microplastic detection without requiring chemical analysis.

2020 Chemosphere 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Do We Really Need Extra Signal-Enhancing Techniques for Nanoplastic Detection? The Mie-Resonance-Assisted Self-Nanolensing Effect Enables Routine Raman Analysis

Researchers revealed that submicrometer dielectric nanoplastics exhibit inherent Mie resonance optical properties that enable their detection without additional signal-enhancing techniques. The finding challenged the assumption that extra amplification is always needed for nanoplastic detection, potentially simplifying analytical approaches.

2026 Analytical Chemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

On the Potential for Optical Detection of Microplastics in the Ocean

This study examines the potential for optical methods to detect microplastics in ocean water at large spatial scales, noting that while optical detection is promising for overcoming the limitations of discrete water sampling, methods remain in early development and reference libraries of microplastic optical properties are sparse.

2023 Oceanography 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification of Very Low Concentrations of Colloids with Light Scattering Applied to Micro(Nano)Plastics in Seawater

Researchers evaluated static and dynamic light scattering techniques for detecting and quantifying colloidal microplastic and nanoplastic particles (0.1-0.8 micron diameter) at very low concentrations in marine water, demonstrating their potential as rapid, non-destructive monitoring tools.

2023 Microplastics 4 citations