Identification of Pristine and Protein Corona Coated Micro- and Nanoplastic Particles with a Colorimetric Sensor Array.

A colorimetric sensor array has been developed to differentiate various micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs), both pristine and those coated with a protein corona, in buffered water. This array utilizes five distinct cross-reactive chemo-responsive dyes, which exhibit changes in visible optical absorbance upon interaction with MNPs. Although no single dye responds exclusively to either pristine or protein-corona-coated MNPs, the collective shifts in color across all dyes create a unique molecular fingerprint for each type of MNP.