Sub-micron IR spectroscopy for measurement of microplastics
![microPlastics-med tall 1000 Closeup of a single cell representing the use of the mIRage on sub cellular scale material analysis](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/microPlastics-med-tall-1000.png)
Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment and understanding their impact on health and the environment is currently an urgent scientific and political goal
Download more information here:
PDF: Sub-micron IR and Raman spectroscopy for chemical identification of microplastics
Webinar: View our microplastics webinar
OPTIR provides accurate measurement of a wide range of critical <20um microplastics that are poorly resolved by other IR techniques
OPTIR overcomes many of the limitations of Raman for microplastics measurement but provide complementary and confirmatory results
Co-located O-PTIR and fluorescence provides a unique combination to quickly identify specific microplastics types and provide sub-micron IR spectra
Simultaneous OPTIR and Raman spectra of MP particles with the O-PTIR instrument is a superior approach for material identification in terms of throughput than two standalone instruments
Many IR and Raman based applications require the measurement of small particles, often numbering in the hundreds if not thousands of particles. Most notably, such applications include microplastic identification and the characterization of other particles, such as environmental aerosols, pharmaceutical nasal sprays, and organic contaminants.
Optical Photothermal Infrared spectroscopy (O-PTIR) on the mIRage and mIRage-LS accurately measure and chemically identify particles and micro-plastics from sub-micron to mm’s in size, overcoming the limitations of conventional FTIR and Raman techniques.
Automated sub-micron IR and µchemID of particles and micro-plastics
Automated measurement and chemical ID of microplastics from sub-micron to millimeters
Measures large numbers of microplastics and particles
Automatic search and selection of particles
Automatic measurement and chemID
![Hairline faded ends 900px](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hairline-faded-ends-900px.png)
Microplastics contamination in oceans and waterways
An emerging environmental concern especially for ocean/aquatic life is microplastics pollution. With research continuing to increase to assess the potential harmful affects to aquatic life and the food chain, accurate characterization and identification of microplastics is becoming critical. Microplastics are small plastic microscopic particles and fibers that range from 1micron to 5mm. Microplastics have been found in virtually all environments, from waterways, to wastewater, to the air we breathe and the food we eat. Owing to their small sizes (1 micron to 5mm) their accurate identification and morphological characterization can be challenging. O-PTIR, with its ability to measure submicron particles and fibers of varied sizes in far field reflection mode to yield FTIR transmission-like spectral quality regardless of particle shape and size, makes it the ideal technique for microplastics/particulate characterization. When coupled with simultaneous Raman (IR+Raman), it becomes an even more powerful tool that brings together the best of IR and Raman into a single measurement, for more thorough and accurate characterization for microplastics contaminants.
500nm polystyrene beads – High quality IR+Raman in seconds
Spectra are raw and unprocessed
Spectra (IR+Raman) from single 500nm bead or a cluster of 2µm beads all look the same
O-PTIR generates robust, repeatable spectra, independent of particle shape/size or sample roughness
![Microplastics IR+Raman in seconds-horizontal copy](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Microplastics-IRRaman-in-seconds-horizontal-copy.png)
Fluorescence imaging + O-PTIR of microplastics
Fluorescence tagging of polymeric beads can help to isolate the polymer particles from other particles for measurement with O-PTIR, thus dramatically speeding up analysis
![Fluorescence imaging + OPTIR of microplastics-2](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Fluorescence-imaging-OPTIR-of-microplastics-2.jpg)
O-PTIR image and spectra of PS and PMMA dispersed in saline
mIRage locates PS (0.9 µm, 2.0 µm, 4.5 µm and 10 µm) and PMMA beads (3.0 µm) in salt crystal mixture in hi-res IR images at key absorption bands. Distortion free spectra, even amongst salt crystals at hotspots, confirm the identity of the microplastics and readily searched against IR database. Importantly, and unlike traditional FTIR/QCL systems, spectra are consistent, regardless of particle shape or size when measured in reflection mode – no dispersive scatter artefacts.
![microplastics spectra and images-1](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/microplastics-spectra-and-images-1.png)
Sub-micron IR spectroscopy for measurement of microplastics
![microPlastics-med tall 1000 Closeup of a single cell representing the use of the mIRage on sub cellular scale material analysis](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/microPlastics-med-tall-1000.png)
Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment and understanding their impact on health and the environment is currently an urgent scientific and political goal
Download more information here:
PDF: Sub-micron IR and Raman spectroscopy for chemical identification of microplastics
Webinar: View our microplastics webinar
OPTIR provides accurate measurement of a wide range of critical <20um microplastics that are poorly resolved by other IR techniques
OPTIR overcomes many of the limitations of Raman for microplastics measurement but provide complementary and confirmatory results
Co-located O-PTIR and fluorescence provides a unique combination to quickly identify specific microplastics types and provide sub-micron IR spectra
Simultaneous OPTIR and Raman spectra of MP particles with the O-PTIR instrument is a superior approach for material identification in terms of throughput than two standalone instruments
Many IR and Raman based applications require the measurement of small particles, often numbering in the hundreds if not thousands of particles. Most notably, such applications include microplastic identification and the characterization of other particles, such as environmental aerosols, pharmaceutical nasal sprays, and organic contaminants.
Optical Photothermal Infrared spectroscopy (O-PTIR) on the mIRage and mIRage-LS accurately measure and chemically identify particles and micro-plastics from sub-micron to mm’s in size, overcoming the limitations of conventional FTIR and Raman techniques.
Automated sub-micron IR and µchemID of particles and micro-plastics
Automated measurement and chemical ID of microplastics from sub-micron to millimeters
Measures large numbers of microplastics and particles
Automatic search and selection of particles
Automatic measurement and chemID
Microplastics contamination in oceans and waterways
An emerging environmental concern especially for ocean/aquatic life is microplastics pollution. With research continuing to increase to assess the potential harmful affects to aquatic life and the food chain, accurate characterization and identification of microplastics is becoming critical. Microplastics are small plastic microscopic particles and fibers that range from 1micron to 5mm. Microplastics have been found in virtually all environments, from waterways, to wastewater, to the air we breathe and the food we eat. Owing to their small sizes (1 micron to 5mm) their accurate identification and morphological characterization can be challenging. O-PTIR, with its ability to measure submicron particles and fibers of varied sizes in far field reflection mode to yield FTIR transmission-like spectral quality regardless of particle shape and size, makes it the ideal technique for microplastics/particulate characterization. When coupled with simultaneous Raman (IR+Raman), it becomes an even more powerful tool that brings together the best of IR and Raman into a single measurement, for more thorough and accurate characterization for microplastics contaminants.
500nm polystyrene beads – High quality IR+Raman in seconds
Spectra are raw and unprocessed
Spectra (IR+Raman) from single 500nm bead or a cluster of 2µm beads all look the same
O-PTIR generates robust, repeatable spectra, independent of particle shape/size or sample roughness
![Microplastics IR+Raman in seconds](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Microplastics-IRRaman-in-seconds.png)
![Microplastics IR+Raman in seconds](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Microplastics-IRRaman-in-seconds.png)
Fluorescence imaging + O-PTIR of microplastics
Fluorescence tagging of polymeric beads can help to isolate the polymer particles from other particles for measurement with O-PTIR, thus dramatically speeding up analysis
![Fluorescence imaging of microplatics web](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Fluorescence-imaging-of-microplatics-web.png)
![Fluorescence imaging of microplatics web](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Fluorescence-imaging-of-microplatics-web.png)
O-PTIR image and spectra of PS and PMMA dispersed in saline
mIRage locates PS (0.9 µm, 2.0 µm, 4.5 µm and 10 µm) and PMMA beads (3.0 µm) in salt crystal mixture in hi-res IR images at key absorption bands. Distortion free spectra, even amongst salt crystals at hotspots, confirm the identity of the microplastics and readily searched against IR database. Importantly, and unlike traditional FTIR/QCL systems, spectra are consistent, regardless of particle shape or size when measured in reflection mode – no dispersive scatter artefacts.
![microplastics spectra and images-1](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/microplastics-spectra-and-images-1.png)
![microplastics spectra and images-1](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/microplastics-spectra-and-images-1.png)
![microplastics spectra and images-1](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/microplastics-spectra-and-images-1.png)
![Mirage-OPTIR and Raman verticle new Raman Illustration](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Mirage-OPTIR-and-Raman-verticle-new-Raman-Illustration.png)
![Mirage-OPTIR and Raman verticle new Raman Illustration](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Mirage-OPTIR-and-Raman-verticle-new-Raman-Illustration.png)
Sub-micron IR spectroscopy for measurement of microplastics
![microPlastics illustration-3 Closeup of a single cell representing the use of the mIRage on sub cellular scale material analysis](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/microPlastics-illustration-3.png)
![microPlastics illustration-3 Closeup of a single cell representing the use of the mIRage on sub cellular scale material analysis](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/microPlastics-illustration-3.png)
Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment and understanding their impact on health and the environment is currently an urgent scientific and political goal
OPTIR provides accurate measurement of a wide range of critical <20um microplastics that are poorly resolved by other IR techniques
OPTIR overcomes many of the limitations of Raman for microplastics measurement but provide complementary and confirmatory results
Co-located O-PTIR and fluorescence provides a unique combination to quickly identify specific microplastics types and provide sub-micron IR spectra
Simultaneous OPTIR and Raman spectra of MP particles with the O-PTIR instrument is a superior approach for material identification in terms of throughput than two standalone instruments
Download more information here:
PDF: Sub-micron IR and Raman spectroscopy for chemical identification of microplastics
Webinar: View our microplastics webinar
![featurefindIRlogo-2](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/featurefindIRlogo-2.png)
![featurefindIRlogo-2](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/featurefindIRlogo-2.png)
Automated sub-micron IR and µchemID of particles and micro-plastics
Measures large numbers of microplastics and particles
Automatic search and selection of particles
Automatic measurement and chemID
Many IR and Raman based applications require the measurement of small particles, often numbering in the hundreds if not thousands of particles. Most notably, such applications include microplastic identification and the characterization of other particles, such as environmental aerosols, pharmaceutical nasal sprays, and organic contaminants.
Optical Photothermal Infrared spectroscopy (O-PTIR) on the mIRage and mIRage-LS accurately measure and chemically identify particles and micro-plastics from sub-micron to mm’s in size, overcoming the limitations of conventional FTIR and Raman techniques.
![mIRage-logo-2017-900px](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/mIRage-logo-2017-900px.png)
![mIRage-logo-2017-900px](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/mIRage-logo-2017-900px.png)
![image of the mIRage: Combines FTIR and Raman infrared spectroscopy material analysis](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/mIRage-product-1000px.png)
![image of the mIRage: Combines FTIR and Raman infrared spectroscopy material analysis](https://www.photothermal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/mIRage-product-1000px.png)
Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp.
325 Chapala Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone: (805) 845-6568
Email: info [at] photothermal.com