Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Detection of Polystyrene Microplastic Particles in Water Using Surface-Functionalized Terahertz Microfluidic Metamaterials

Researchers developed a surface-functionalized terahertz metamaterial microfluidic sensor for detecting polystyrene microplastic particles in water, demonstrating that microplastics captured at functionalized gap structures shift the resonant frequency of the metamaterial, enabling label-free detection with findings validated by finite-difference time-domain simulations.

2022 Applied Sciences 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Application of Terahertz Metamaterials Based on Metallic Strip Structures in Detection of Reverse Micelles

Researchers developed terahertz metamaterial sensors based on microfluidic technology for detecting and characterizing microplastics in liquid samples. The approach offers high sensitivity for distinguishing polymer types based on their terahertz absorption signatures.

2024 Biosensors 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Excitation of high Q-factor Fano resonance in asymmetric THz metamaterial for microplastics sensing applications

Researchers designed a terahertz (THz) metasurface sensor — a structured material that interacts with light at microwave-like frequencies — achieving high sensitivity by exploiting a phenomenon called Fano resonance, which produces a very sharp detection signal. The sensor's high quality factor and stability across viewing angles make it well-suited for detecting and identifying microplastic particles by their unique optical signatures.

2025 Results in Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Ultra-compact quintuple-band terahertz metamaterial biosensor for enhanced blood cancer diagnostics

Engineers designed an advanced terahertz-frequency biosensor that can distinguish between normal blood cells and cancerous blood cells with high sensitivity. While not directly about microplastics, this type of sensor technology could potentially be adapted to detect nanoplastic particles in blood samples, advancing our ability to measure human exposure to plastic pollution.

2025 PLoS ONE 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Sub-6 GHz Microwave Sensor Targeting Microplastic Detection

Researchers designed an enhanced sub-6 GHz microwave sensor for low-cost microplastic detection by modifying sensor geometry to better utilize the bandwidth of portable microwave vector network analyzers. Electromagnetic simulations and experimental measurements validated the redesigned sensor, which calibrates resonant frequency as a function of effective permittivity to quantify microplastic concentrations in water.

2025
Article Tier 2

Detection of Microplastic in Salts Using Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Researchers demonstrated that terahertz spectroscopy can detect microplastics embedded in table salt at different concentrations. This technology could offer a new non-destructive method for screening food products for microplastic contamination.

2021 Sensors 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microfluidic Microwave Sensor for Rapid Detection of Microplastics in Water: Optimization, Modeling, and Performance Evaluation

Researchers developed a microfluidic sensor that uses microwave technology to rapidly detect microplastics in water samples without physical contact. The sensor was optimized to distinguish between different concentrations and sizes of plastic particles with high sensitivity. The technology could enable faster and more practical on-site monitoring of microplastic contamination in water supplies.

2024 IEEE Sensors Journal 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid Differentiation between Microplastic Particles Using Integrated Microwave Cytometry with 3D Electrodes

Researchers developed a rapid microplastic identification system combining integrated microwave cytometry with 3D electrodes to differentiate single microparticles in the 14–20 micrometer range as they flow through a microfluidic channel. The system demonstrated the ability to distinguish particle types based on dielectric properties, offering a faster and flow-compatible alternative to conventional spectroscopic techniques for environmental microplastic monitoring.

2024 arXiv (Cornell University)
Article Tier 2

Optical parameters extraction of soil and its microplastics contamination using terahertz spectroscopy

Researchers used terahertz spectroscopy to detect and quantify low-density polyethylene microplastics mixed into soil at different concentrations, finding that the technique could distinguish contaminated from clean soil based on changes in refractive index and signal attenuation. Terahertz spectroscopy is non-destructive and rapid, making it a potentially valuable tool for in-field soil microplastic screening without the need for laboratory extraction.

2024 Heliyon 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Size and concentration characterization of microplastic particles in aqueous samples using sensitivity-enhanced coupled planar microwave resonators

Researchers developed a novel microwave sensing platform for real-time detection and characterization of microplastic particles in water samples. The sensor uses an enhanced coupled planar microwave resonator design with a low-cost disposable sample holder, enabling rapid, non-destructive measurement of microplastic particle size and concentration without cross-contamination between tests.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative Analysis of Sub-6 GHz Microwave Sensors Suitable for Low-Cost In-Situ Microplastic Detection

This engineering paper compares the performance of several microwave resonator sensor designs for detecting microplastics in water, motivated by the growing availability of low-cost handheld instruments. Laboratory tests showed meaningful differences in sensitivity between sensor geometries, with one design showing the highest relative frequency shift in response to a nylon sample. While purely technical, such sensor development work is an important step toward affordable, portable microplastic monitoring tools that could be deployed in rivers, tap water systems, or food processing facilities.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on Rapid Quantitative Detection of Soil MPs Based on Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Researchers developed a rapid method for detecting and quantifying microplastics in soil using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy combined with machine learning algorithms. The classification models achieved high accuracy in identifying different types of microplastics including polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene. The study suggests that terahertz spectroscopy could provide a faster and more efficient alternative to current methods for monitoring microplastic contamination in agricultural soils.

2025 Analytical Chemistry 8 citations
Article Tier 2

MicroMetaSense: Coupling Plasmonic Metasurfaces with Fluorescence for Enhanced Detection of Microplastics in Real Samples

The MicroMetaSense platform coupled plasmonic metasurfaces with fluorescence spectroscopy to achieve enhanced detection of microplastics, including particles smaller than 5 µm and nanoplastics below 1 µm. The approach overcame the detection limitations of existing methods, enabling sensitive MP identification in complex environmental and food matrices.

2024 ACS Sensors 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection of microplastics by microfluidic microwave sensing: An exploratory study

Researchers developed a compact microwave sensor on a microfluidic chip to detect microplastics in water samples. The system works by measuring how the presence of plastic particles changes the electrical properties of water. While the technology shows promise as a rapid and portable detection method, its current sensitivity needs improvement before it can detect the low microplastic concentrations typically found in natural freshwater.

2024 Sensors and Actuators A Physical 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid Differentiation between Microplastic Particles Using Integrated Microwave Cytometry with 3D Electrodes

Researchers developed a microfluidic platform combining microwave capacitive sensing and resistive pulse sensing to rapidly differentiate between types of microplastic particles in liquid. Using 3D electrode arrangements, they successfully distinguished between polystyrene and polyethylene particles in the 10-24 micrometer range. The technology offers a promising approach for fast, flow-through microplastic detection in environmental water samples and biological fluids.

2025 ACS Sensors 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Monolithic Integration of Acoustic Enrichment and Resonant Sensing for Trace Detection of Micro-Plastics

Researchers developed a monolithic chip integrating acoustic enrichment and resonant mass sensing via a 3x3 piezoelectric micromachined resonator array, demonstrating particle focusing within 30 seconds and a significantly larger frequency shift for microplastic detection in seawater compared to random particle dispersion.

2025
Article Tier 2

Development of a Compact and Portable Terahertz Imaging System for Industrial Applications

Researchers developed a compact, portable terahertz imaging device suitable for use outside the laboratory, demonstrating its ability to detect microplastics in soil among a range of other applications. While microplastic detection is one of several uses tested, the availability of low-cost, field-deployable detection technology could support faster and broader environmental monitoring of microplastic contamination.

2024 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Towards a fast and generalized microplastic quantification method in soil using terahertz spectroscopy

Researchers compared terahertz and near-infrared spectroscopy for quantifying microplastics in soil, finding that terahertz spectroscopy offered a faster and more accurate approach than NIR for distinguishing household microplastics from standard reference polymers in soil matrices.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Passive Disposable Microwave Sensor for Online Microplastic Contamination Monitoring

Researchers developed a passive disposable microwave sensor for online monitoring of microplastic contamination in water, using a sensitivity-enhanced planar dual-resonator tag-reader structure combined with a silicon resonator to enable non-contact concentration measurement.

2022 2022 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium - IMS 2022 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Design and Testing of 3D-Printed Microfluidic Devices for Microplastic Monitoring

Researchers designed and tested a stereolithography 3D-printed microfluidic device with impedance spectroscopy electrodes for detecting microplastic particles in drinking water, demonstrating a low-cost fabrication approach for continuous microplastic monitoring systems.

2025
Article Tier 2

High-sensitivity SERS sensor leveraging three-dimensional Ti3C2Tx/TiO2/W18O49 semiconductor heterostructures for reliable detection of trace micro/nanoplastics in environmental matrices

Researchers developed a new sensor that can detect trace amounts of micro- and nanoplastics in environmental samples like rainwater, soil, and wastewater. The sensor uses a layered semiconductor structure to enhance Raman spectroscopy signals, achieving high sensitivity and the ability to identify multiple plastic types at once. This technology could make it faster and more practical to monitor plastic pollution in real-world settings.

2024 Talanta 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Meniscus‐Confined 3D Printed Nanoparticles: A Comparative Study of Quantitative SERS Detection of Microplastics

Detecting microplastics accurately in environmental samples is technically challenging, and this study introduces a new approach using 3D-printed silver and gold nanoparticle surfaces that amplify the light signal from microplastics when analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. Both types of printed substrates could detect plastic particles at concentrations as low as 0.3–1.2 micrograms per milliliter, with high reproducibility across dozens of repeated measurements. This technology could make routine, sensitive microplastic monitoring faster and more practical for environmental agencies and researchers.

2026 ChemistrySelect
Article Tier 2

RF MEMS Resonance Sensor for Measuring Microplastics Concentration

Researchers designed an RF MEMS resonance sensor capable of detecting microplastics in water at low cost, offering a practical alternative to expensive conventional particle analyzers for environmental monitoring.

2022 2022 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM) 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterizations of high-density polyethylene by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

Researchers characterized the optical properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) particles using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and found the method can distinguish different particle sizes and filler contents. The technique can also detect how HDPE adsorbs other substances onto its surface. Terahertz spectroscopy could be developed as a rapid, non-destructive tool for identifying and characterizing HDPE microplastics in environmental samples.

2023 Terahertz Science and Technology