Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Quantitative and Qualitative Differences of Common Microplastic Detection Procedures: Nile Red- assisted Fluorescence Microscopy and Confocal Micro-Raman Spectroscopy

Researchers compared Nile Red-assisted fluorescence microscopy and confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy for microplastic detection, finding an overall percentage difference of 421% between methods, with better agreement at smaller particle sizes and Raman spectroscopy offering superior ability to distinguish microplastics from organic matter.

2025
Article Tier 2

Nile red staining in microplastic analysis—proposal for a reliable and fast identification approach for large microplastics

Researchers tested Nile red staining with UV light photography as a rapid and reliable method for identifying large microplastics in environmental samples, finding it comparable to fluorescence microscopy-based staining and confirmed by μ-Raman spectroscopy.

2019 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Optimization of sample preparation, fluorescence- and Raman techniques for environmental microplastics

Researchers optimized methods for preparing and analyzing environmental microplastic samples using fluorescence staining with Nile Red dye and Raman spectroscopy. The study found that while fluorescence can broadly categorize plastics as polar or non-polar, Raman spectroscopy with a deep-UV laser was needed to reliably identify all polymer types, including those pigmented with carbon black.

2024 Spectrochimica Acta Part A Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Prevalence of small-sized microplastics in coastal sediments detected by multipoint confocal micro-Raman spectrum scanning

Researchers developed a new micro-Raman spectrum scanning method to detect small-sized microplastics in coastal sediments, revealing that particles under 50 micrometers are the most prevalent and commonly overlooked by standard techniques.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 37 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

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

Systematic quantitation for microplastics and nanoplastics based on size-fractionated filtration hyphenated to Raman/SERS and slope-matching strategy

Researchers developed a systematic method for accurately measuring micro- and nanoplastics using size-fractionated filtration combined with Raman and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The approach addresses the challenge of quantifying plastic particles with heterogeneous size distributions, offering a more reliable strategy for environmental monitoring.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 5 citations
Article Tier 2

From qualitative to quantitative measurement of small microplastics using multi-detector field flow fractionation coupled offline to microscopy and raman spectroscopy

This study developed an analytical method combining multi-detector field flow fractionation with offline microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to move from simply identifying microplastics to accurately measuring their quantity in small size ranges. Improved quantification methods are critical because current inconsistencies in measurement approaches make it difficult to set health-based exposure limits or compare contamination levels across studies.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

From qualitative to quantitative measurement of small microplastics using multi-detector field flow fractionation coupled offline to microscopy and raman spectroscopy

This study developed an analytical method combining multi-detector field flow fractionation with offline microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to move from simply identifying microplastics to accurately measuring their quantity in small size ranges. Improved quantification methods are critical because current inconsistencies in measurement approaches make it difficult to set health-based exposure limits or compare contamination levels across studies.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

A critical assessment of visual identification of marine microplastic using Raman spectroscopy for analysis improvement

Researchers critically evaluated the accuracy of visual identification versus Raman spectroscopy for identifying marine microplastics, finding that visual identification alone has significant error rates and that spectroscopic confirmation is necessary for reliable results.

2015 Marine Pollution Bulletin 755 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy for the Quantification of Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment

Microplastics from North Sea surface waters were analyzed by both Raman and FTIR spectroscopy across two size fractions, with automated Raman quantifying approximately twice as many particles ≤500 μm as FTIR imaging, but similar results for larger particles. The comparison study identifies key trade-offs between the two techniques and demonstrates that method choice significantly affects microplastic abundance estimates.

2018 Environmental Science & Technology 448 citations
Article Tier 2

Analytical tools in advancing microplastics research for identification and quantification across environmental media: from sample to insight

Researchers reviewed the analytical tools most commonly used for identifying and quantifying microplastics, focusing on FTIR and Raman spectroscopy as the two primary methods. The review compared their strengths and limitations and provided guidance for choosing between them based on particle size, sample matrix, and research objectives.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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

Study on Rapid Recognition of Marine Microplastics Based on Raman Spectroscopy

Researchers developed a rapid identification system for marine microplastics using Raman spectroscopy, enabling quick determination of plastic type and size. Fast, accurate identification tools are critical for monitoring the growing problem of microplastic pollution in ocean environments.

2021 Knowledge Repository of Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, CAS (Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research) 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Design of a confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy system and research on microplastics detection

Researchers built a custom confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy system designed to detect microplastics more cost-effectively than commercial instruments. The improved signal quality enables more accurate identification of plastic polymer types in environmental samples.

2021 Applied Optics 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative profiling and exposure assessment of microplastics in differently sized Manila clams from South Korea by μFTIR and Nile Red staining

A comparison of two popular methods for detecting microplastics in Manila clams found that Nile Red fluorescent staining identified about 28% more particles than infrared microscopy (microFTIR), though FTIR provided more reliable polymer identification. The study also found that larger clams tended to contain slightly more microplastics, highlighting the importance of clam size and analytical method choice when assessing how much plastic people may consume through seafood.

2023 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Modification of fluorescence staining method for small-sized microplastic quantification: Focus on the interference exclusion and exposure time optimization

Researchers optimized a Nile Red/DAPI fluorescence co-staining method for quantifying small microplastics, identifying key interference factors and exposure time parameters that significantly improve accuracy of microplastic detection.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Selection of microplastics by Nile Red staining increases environmental sample throughput by micro-Raman spectroscopy

This study showed that pre-selecting particles with Nile Red staining prior to Raman spectroscopy analysis significantly increases sample throughput, enabling faster processing of environmental microplastic samples without sacrificing identification accuracy.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 79 citations
Article Tier 2

A comparison of spectroscopic analysis methods for microplastics: Manual, semi-automated, and automated Fourier transform infrared and Raman techniques

Researchers compared manual, semi-automated, and fully automated methods for identifying microplastics using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. They found that the semi-automated approach was the best balance of accuracy and efficiency, detecting 22% more microplastic particles than manual analysis while taking less time. The fully automated method was fastest but had an 80% false positive rate, while Raman microscopy was better for very small particles but took nine times longer.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 84 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of Nile Red-Stained Microplastics through Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Researchers developed an improved method for characterizing microplastics using Nile Red fluorescent staining combined with fluorescence spectroscopy. They found that different plastic polymers produce distinct fluorescent signatures when stained, enabling more reliable identification of plastic types. The technique offers a faster and more affordable alternative to traditional microplastic detection methods, which could help scale up environmental monitoring efforts.

2024 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic detection and identification by Nile red staining: Towards a semi-automated, cost- and time-effective technique

Researchers developed a semi-automated, cost-effective method for microplastic detection using Nile red fluorescent staining, showing it can significantly reduce the time and expense of identifying microplastics compared to traditional spectroscopic approaches.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 176 citations
Article Tier 2

Inter-instrument definition of valid criteria for the automatic identification of microplastics by micro-Raman spectroscopy

Researchers developed a standardized methodology for automatically identifying microplastics using micro-Raman spectroscopy across different laboratory instruments. They determined optimal match algorithms and threshold values that achieved a 95% true positive rate with minimal false positives, even when spectra were collected on different spectrometers. The study addresses a key barrier to reliable, reproducible microplastic identification in environmental and health research.

2025 Talanta 1 citations
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

Raman Microspectroscopy: Improvement in Signal Generation and Collection to Facilitate Raman Spectroscopy

Advances in Raman microspectroscopy were reviewed for improving signal generation and analysis in microplastic identification, including new detector designs and data processing algorithms. Enhanced Raman spectroscopy capabilities enable faster and more accurate polymer identification at smaller particle sizes.

2025 IntechOpen eBooks 1 citations