Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Separation, characterization and identification of microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment

This review evaluates the various analytical techniques used to separate, characterize, and identify microplastics and nanoplastics in environmental samples. Researchers compared the strengths and weaknesses of different methods including spectroscopy, microscopy, and thermal analysis approaches. The study highlights the need for standardized procedures and emerging detection tools to improve our understanding of microplastic contamination and its ecological impacts.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 331 citations
Article Tier 2

The Challenge of the Analysis of Nanoplastics in the Environment: Current Status and Perspectives

This review examines the analytical challenges of detecting and characterising nanoplastics in environmental samples, presenting the state of the art in size determination, chemical composition analysis, and quantification techniques, as well as a survey of nanoplastic model materials used in the literature.

2022
Article Tier 2

Current Methods and Prospects for Analysis and Characterization of Nanomaterials in the Environment

This review summarizes current methods for analyzing and characterizing nanomaterials, including nanoplastics, in environmental samples such as water, soil, and air. Researchers evaluated techniques for sample preparation, separation, and detection, noting that low concentrations and structural complexity in natural settings remain major analytical challenges. The study identifies emerging approaches that may improve our ability to assess real-world nanoplastic exposure scenarios for environmental risk assessment.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 68 citations
Article Tier 2

New Analytical Approaches for Effective Quantification and Identification of Nanoplastics in Environmental Samples

This review assessed new analytical approaches for quantifying and identifying nanoplastics in environmental samples, highlighting fundamental challenges in detection due to their small size and the need for improved methods to understand nanoplastic contamination levels.

2021 Processes 31 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
Article Tier 2

Searching Nanoplastics: From Sampling to Sample Processing

This review addresses the challenges of sampling and processing nanoplastics from environmental matrices, discussing how their infinitesimal size and physical diversity complicate detection, characterization, and quantification efforts.

2021 Polymers 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Separation and Analysis of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Complex Environmental Samples

This review examined separation and analysis methods for microplastics and nanoplastics in complex environmental samples, covering density separation, filtration, spectroscopic identification, and emerging approaches for sub-micron particles. The authors identify detection of nanoplastics as a critical unresolved methodological challenge for understanding full plastic contamination in the environment.

2019 Accounts of Chemical Research 671 citations
Article Tier 2

The Emerging of Microplastic and Nanoplastic as Pollutants and their Characterization and Analysis

This review presents an integrated approach to sampling, sample preparation, and analytical methods for detecting microplastics and nanoplastics in solid and aqueous environmental samples, discussing current challenges and emerging methodologies for more accurate characterization.

2023 Brazilian Journal of Analytical Chemistry 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Current techniques for identifying, quantifying, and characterizing micro and nanoplastics with emphasis on strengths, limitations, and challenges

Researchers reviewed current analytical techniques for identifying, quantifying, and characterizing micro- and nanoplastics across environmental matrices. The review highlights the strengths and limitations of methods including FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, and pyrolysis-GC/MS, and calls for standardization to improve comparability across studies.

2025 Discover Environment
Article Tier 2

A review on analytical performance of micro- and nanoplastics analysis methods

This review evaluated the analytical methods currently available for detecting and measuring micro- and nanoplastics in various environments. Researchers compared techniques based on their accuracy, sensitivity, and practical limitations, noting that particle size and the complexity of the surrounding material significantly affect method performance. The study identifies key challenges and provides guidance on selecting appropriate analytical approaches for different types of plastic pollution research.

2023 Arabian Journal of Chemistry 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges and Recent Analytical Advances in Micro/Nanoplastic Detection

This review covers the challenges scientists face in detecting and measuring micro- and nanoplastics in the environment, especially for particles smaller than one micrometer. Current analytical methods have significant limitations for identifying nanoplastics due to their extremely small size and diverse chemical compositions. Improving detection technology is essential for accurately assessing how much microplastic contamination exists in water, food, and human tissues.

2024 Analytical Chemistry 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Chemical Analysis of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Challenges, Advanced Methods, and Perspectives

This review covers the latest laboratory methods for detecting and measuring microplastics and nanoplastics in environmental samples like water, food, and air. Identifying these tiny particles is extremely challenging because they vary enormously in size, shape, and plastic type, and concentrations can differ by billions of times between samples. Better standardized detection methods are essential for accurately understanding how much microplastic humans are actually exposed to.

2021 Chemical Reviews 927 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges and Advances in Analytical Techniques to Detect Micro- and Nanoplastics

This research review summarizes the current methods scientists use to detect and study microplastics and nanoplastics - tiny plastic particles that can get into our environment, food, and bodies. The authors explain that identifying these extremely small plastic pieces is very challenging and requires advanced laboratory techniques to understand what types of plastics they are and how much is present. Better detection methods are important because we need to understand how much plastic pollution we're exposed to and its potential effects on human health.

2026
Article Tier 2

Micro/nano-plastics occurrence, identification, risk analysis and mitigation: challenges and perspectives

This review provides a comprehensive overview of micro- and nanoplastic pollution, covering their sources, occurrence in different environments, identification methods, and potential risks to ecosystems and human health. Researchers examined current analytical techniques and found significant gaps in the ability to detect and quantify the smallest plastic particles. The study outlines mitigation strategies including improved waste management, advanced filtration, and biodegradable alternatives.

2022 Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology 233 citations
Article Tier 2

A physical chemistry lens on environmental nanoplastics analysis challenges. Part II: detection techniques – principles, limitations and future directions

A physical chemistry perspective examined the analytical challenges of measuring environmental nanoplastics, arguing that standard methods often miss or mischaracterize the smallest particles. The paper calls for improved analytical frameworks to better understand nanoplastic behavior and biological risks.

2025 Environmental Science Nano 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancements in environmental nanoplastics research

This review synthesises advances in environmental nanoplastics research, discussing distinctions between nanoplastics and microplastics in physicochemical properties, limitations in current analytical methods for environmental samples, and gaps between laboratory exposure studies and real-world concentrations. The authors highlight emerging evidence of nanoplastics in human organs and excretions and argue that methodological breakthroughs will usher in a 'nano era' of plastic pollution research.

2025 Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version)
Article Tier 2

Separation and characterization of microplastic and nanoplastic particles in marine environment

This review examined methods for separating and characterizing microplastics and nanoplastics in marine environments, addressing challenges posed by their tiny size, diverse properties, and ability to adsorb pollutants.

2021 Environmental Pollution 142 citations
Article Tier 2

Physicochemical characterization and quantification of nanoplastics: applicability, limitations and complementarity of batch and fractionation methods

Researchers evaluated a suite of techniques for measuring the size, shape, and chemical makeup of nanoplastics — plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer — and found that no single method works for all sample types, especially when particles vary in size or clump together. Combining multiple complementary techniques is essential for reliable nanoplastic characterization, particularly in complex environmental or biological samples.

2023 Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 56 citations
Article Tier 2

Analytical methods and environmental processes of nanoplastics

This review examined current analytical methods for extracting, separating, identifying, and quantifying nanoplastics in environmental matrices, and summarized knowledge on their fate and transport pathways in the environment. The authors identified key gaps including detection limits too high to measure ultralow nanoplastic concentrations and an over-reliance on spherical polystyrene models that fail to represent the irregular shapes found in nature.

2020 Journal of Environmental Sciences 101 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying micro- and nanoplastics

This work addresses methodological approaches for quantifying micro- and nanoplastics in environmental samples, examining analytical techniques, sampling strategies, and measurement challenges. The publication is part of the international research literature on standardizing plastic particle detection and quantification methods.

2024 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Challenges to the Analysis of Microplastic Pollution from the Environment

This chapter reviews the main methods for detecting and quantifying microplastics in environmental samples, including spectroscopic and thermo-analytical approaches. Key challenges discussed include time-consuming sample preparation, lack of standardization, and the risk of contamination or microplastic loss during analysis.

2023 BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS eBooks 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Spectro‐Microscopic Techniques for Studying Nanoplastics in the Environment and in Organisms

This review examined spectro-microscopic techniques available for detecting and studying nanoplastics in environmental and biological samples. The study highlights that detecting nanoplastics remains challenging because their small size falls below the detection limits of common analytical tools, and their chemical composition is similar to organic matrices, making identification difficult.

2022 Angewandte Chemie International Edition 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges in the search for nanoplastics in the environment—A critical review from the polymer science perspective

Researchers reviewed the scientific challenges in detecting nanoplastics — plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer — in natural environments, noting that none had been confirmed in the wild at the time of the study despite being suspected to pose serious environmental risks. The review highlights the urgent need for better sampling, separation, and detection methods, since the very techniques needed to find nanoplastics are still being developed.

2020 Polymer Testing 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Sampling and Sample Preparation Techniques for Micro- and Nanoplastics

Scientists don't have a standard way to find and measure tiny plastic particles (microplastics) in our environment, making it hard to compare research results. This review paper examines different methods researchers use to detect these plastic particles in air, water, soil, food, and living things. Having better, consistent testing methods is important because microplastics are found throughout our environment and food chain, but we can't properly track their health effects without reliable measurement techniques.

2026