Functioning much like a test strip, this innovation is designed to provide a new analytical tool for environmental and health research. The approach relies on a standard optical microscope and a newly designed test strip called the optical sieve. Evidence now points to an even more concerning threat: nanoplastic particles. Optical sieve instead of expensive electron microscopeThe “optical sieve” uses resonance effects in small holes to make the nanoplastic particles visible. The technology could serve as a mobile test strip that would provide information on the content of nanoplastics in water or soil directly on site,” explains Hentschel.