{"id":139118,"date":"2025-09-13T02:13:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T02:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/139118\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T02:13:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T02:13:07","slug":"researchers-develop-new-and-simple-nanoplastic-detection-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/139118\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers Develop &#8220;New and Simple&#8221; Nanoplastic Detection Method"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A joint team of scientists from the University of Stuttgart in Germany and the University of Melbourne in Australia developed a simple and cost-effective way to find nanoplastic particles in the environment. They call their invention an \u201coptical sieve.\u201d According to the teams, it\u2019s a little test strip that can spot microplastic bits with nothing more than a microscope.<\/p>\n<p>Plastic pollution is a serious issue globally. Although most headlines cover larger <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomorrowsworldtoday.com\/manufacturing\/first-us-facility-to-turn-plastic-waste-into-concrete-additive\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">plastic waste<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomorrowsworldtoday.com\/nature\/microplastics-have-made-their-way-to-remote-areas-of-antarctica\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">microplastics<\/a>, scientists are more concerned about nanoplastics.<\/p>\n<p>Nanoplastics are extremely small bits left over from bigger, broken-down plastics. Scientists say the bits are smaller than a human hair. Because of their microscopic size, nanoplastics can easily sneak into our bodies. These particles have historically been hard to find, making it difficult for scientists to understand the danger they pose to the human body and the environment.<\/p>\n<p>Spotting a Global Threat<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"A newly developed test strip detects dangerous nanoplastic particles under a light microscope\" alt=\"A newly developed test strip detects dangerous nanoplastic particles under a light microscope\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-37.png\" data- class=\"wp-image-46535 size-full lazyload\"\/>A newly developed test strip detects dangerous nanoplastic particles under a light microscope; Photo: University of Stuttgart\/4th Physics Institute<\/p>\n<p>Researchers believe this new invention changes that.<\/p>\n<p>According to the research teams, the new method makes detection easier by using a special test strip. The test strip changes colors when nanoplastic particles settle in small depressions etched into a semiconductor substrate. The depressions called \u201cMie voids\u201d are designed to interact with light in a specific way. Researchers say color visibly changes when a particle lands in one of these voids.<\/p>\n<p>This is why researchers compare the test strip to a kitchen sieve.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe particles are filtered out of the liquid using the sieve in which the size and depth of the holes can be adapted to the nanoplastic particles, and subsequently by the resulting color change can be detected,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uni-stuttgart.de\/en\/university\/news\/all\/New-and-simple-detection-method-for-nanoplastics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">said<\/a> PhD student and the study\u2019s first author Dominik Ludescher. \u201cThis allows us to determine whether the voids are filled or empty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Researchers say the new tool is a game-changer because of its simplicity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe new approach is much cheaper, doesn\u2019t need trained personnel to operate, and cuts down the time needed for detailed analysis,\u201d said team leader Dr. Mario Hentschel.<\/p>\n<p>The team of researchers explained that the technology could one day be a mobile test strip that allows us to check for nanoplastics in the water or soil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A joint team of scientists from the University of Stuttgart in Germany and the University of Melbourne in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[64,63,6145,64126,337,128,42119],"class_list":["post-139118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-inventions","tag-product-development","tag-research","tag-science","tag-world-of-innovation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}