Featured Papers:

Urine Diagnostics as a Scalable Platform for Assessing Microplastics and Nanoplastics as Environmental Exposures
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19329797

Challenges in Interpreting Reported Urine Microplastic and Nanoplastic Levels: Mass- vs. Particle-Based Measurements
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20576841

Phthalates Are Not Microplastics or Nanoplastics: Distinguishing Chemical Plasticizers from Physical Plastic Particles in Human Urine
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21119426

Scalable Urine Test for Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Development Progress, Regulatory Strategy, and Planned Observational Study
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19672934

Microplastics and Nanoplastics as Potential Contributors to Neurodegenerative Disease: Mechanistic Links to Dementia, Parkinson's Disease, Epilepsy, and Emerging Therapeutic Opportunities
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19751299
 

Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Impacts on Female Reproductive Health, Ovarian Function, and Genitourinary Disorders
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19751747

Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Emerging Threats to Male Reproductive Health, Spermatogenesis, and Fertility
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19751579

Microplastics and Nanoplastics as Emerging Contributors to Cardiovascular Disease: Mechanisms, Clinical Evidence, and Therapeutic Opportunities
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19753798

Microplastics and Nanoplastics as Emerging Contributors to Carcinogenesis: Mechanisms, Organ-Specific Risks, and Therapeutic Opportunities
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19751057
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Intro to EcoExposure:

Designing Field-Deployable, AI Smartphone-Based Diagnostics for Global Scalable Water Intelligence: The EcoExposure Platform
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19689354
 

The Ecotera Research Portfolio – Organized Table of Contents:

A Technical Paper Index and Strategic Overview

 

Suggested Reading Paths

For Policymakers

Read Sections 4 + 5

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For Scientists

Read Sections 1 + 2

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For Health / Clinical Readers

Read Section 3

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For Investors / Strategic Partners

Read Sections 4 + 6

 

For Regulators

Read Sections 1 + 3 + 5

This document provides an organized table of contents for the 2026 Ecotera research portfolio — a growing collection of technical papers focused on scalable detection, interpretation, monitoring, and mitigation of microplastics and nanoplastics across environmental and biological systems.

 

The portfolio spans field-deployable sensing technologies, urine-based human exposure monitoring, computer-vision approaches, mechanistic models, multi-analyte water intelligence platforms, policy frameworks, and therapeutic concepts. Collectively, these papers shift the focus from isolated laboratory observations toward practical, scalable, real-world solutions that prioritize accessibility, repeatability, and impact.

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Strategic Vision of the Portfolio
Across these papers, several consistent themes emerge:

• Scalability over niche complexity

• Real-world deployment over laboratory isolation

• Longitudinal and distributed monitoring over one-time snapshots

• Actionable outputs over purely academic endpoints

• Surface-area-aware mechanistic thinking over simplistic particle counts

• Detection explicitly linked to intervention, policy, and health outcomes

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1. Foundational Detection & Measurement Systems

These papers introduce scalable alternatives to traditional centralized laboratory workflows and establish the technical foundation for decentralized monitoring.

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1.1 Plastic Polymer Type Identification Should Not Be the Initial Primary Goal for Microplastics Policy, Regulation, and Remediation Decisions in 2026

Argues that actionable detection may be more important than immediate polymer-level classification in many real-world policy settings.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19638116

 

1.2 Toward a Global Standard for Field-Based Microplastic and Nanoplastic Detection: Conceptual Framework, Version 1

Proposes core principles for distributed field detection systems emphasizing reproducibility, simplicity, and scalability.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19536054

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1.3 A Computer Vision Approach for Non-Enumerative Detection of Microplastic and Nanoplastic Signatures and Mixed Particulate Regimes

Introduces image-based interpretation of mixed particle systems without requiring exhaustive particle counting.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19532700

 

1.4 Signal Generation and Pattern-Based Detection: Microplastic and Nanoplastic Assays as Corollaries to PCR and ELISA

Positions optical interaction assays as signal-generation systems analogous to transformative prior diagnostics.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19521084

 

1.5 A Multi-Matrix Approach to Microplastic and Nanoplastic Detection Across Environmental and Biological Samples

Explores unified measurement principles across water and biological matrices.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19462123

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1.6 Current Practical Limitations of Advanced Spectroscopic and Imaging Methods for Nanoplastics Characterization in Complex Biological Matrices

Reviews barriers to scalability, cost, contamination control, and throughput in current high-end methods.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19450733

 

1.7 How Back-Calculation and Particle Size Assumptions in Lab-Based Methods Can Significantly Alter Reported Microplastic and Nanoplastic Particle Counts

Explains how modeling assumptions can dramatically change reported particle numbers without changing the underlying sample.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19646694

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1.8 How a Field-Ready Natural Reagent System Was Selected: Multi-Criteria Screening for Microplastic/Nanoplastic Assays

Summarizes the experimental process used to identify a practical natural reagent system optimized for speed, optics, supply chain reliability, and field use.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19663736

 

1.9 Dose Matters: Experimental Evidence That Reagent Concentration Influences Signal Strength in a Surface-Interaction Microplastic/Nanoplastic Assay

Demonstrates that reagent concentration materially affects assay behavior, consistency, and optical interpretation.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19663545

 

 

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2. Theoretical Frameworks: The Z-Model

These papers introduce accessible surface area (ASA) as a unifying variable governing particulate behavior across systems.

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2.1 The Z-Model: A Unified Accessible Surface Area Framework for Predicting Particulate Behavior Across Environmental, Biological, and Material Systems

Introduces the core theory of Z-sites, Z-density, and surface-governed behavior.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19659126

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2.2 The Z-Model Applied to Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Accessible Surface Area, Mixed-Scale Environmental Samples, and Policy-Relevant Detection

Applies the framework to mixed MP/NP systems, field detection, and environmental interpretation.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19661568

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2.3 Nanoplastics Are Not Simply Smaller Microplastics: Accessible Surface Area Drives Their Disproportionate Human Health Risks

Explains why nanoplastics may create outsized biological effects through increased reactive surface area and interaction density.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19663224

 

 

 

3. Human Health & Biological Monitoring

These papers focus on human exposure monitoring, urine as a scalable matrix, and disease relevance.

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3.1 Preliminary Report: Scalable Detection of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Human Urine

Early feasibility work supporting urine as a practical monitoring matrix.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19342198

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3.2 Toward Scalable Detection of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Human Biological Systems: Alignment with STOMP Objectives and Preliminary Feasibility Data

Connects biological monitoring with broader national priorities.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19393852

 

3.3 Toward a Harmonized Framework for Standardization for Scalable and Reproducible Measurement of Microplastic and Nanoplastic Monitoring in Human Urine

Proposes a technology-agnostic quality framework for urine-based monitoring.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19645419

 

3.4 Human Health Impacts and Tissue Deposition of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Organ-System Summary (April 2026)

Summarizes reported organ-system exposure pathways, deposition findings, and emerging health concerns.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19663994

 

3.5 Microplastics and Nanoplastics in the Gastrointestinal System: Mechanisms, Risks, and Therapeutic Opportunities

Examines GI exposure pathways and intervention opportunities.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19562033

 

3.6 Environmental Skin Defense in the Microplastics/Nanoplastics Era: A Technical Perspective on Barrier-Impaired Skin, Airborne Exposure, and Preventive Solutions

Explores skin exposure, barrier dysfunction, and preventive strategies.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19589741

 

 

 

4. Water Intelligence, Field Validation & Real-World Deployment

These papers focus on practical environmental sensing systems.

 

4.1 Toward a Multi-Analyte Smartphone Platform for Scalable Global Water Intelligence: Beyond Microplastics/Nanoplastics

Introduces a modular smartphone platform expandable from plastics to metals, turbidity, surfactants, and future analytes.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19675066

 

4.2 Distributed Environmental Sensing Networks: A Framework for Scalable Global Water Intelligence

Presents decentralized sensing networks capable of generating dense real-world environmental data.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19475218

 

 

4.3 Toward a Policy-Driven Data Flywheel for Scalable Real-Time Water Intelligence: A Framework for Decentralized Environmental Monitoring

Explains how repeated distributed testing can create self-improving intelligence systems.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19648571

 

4.4 Large Sample Volumes Improve Detection Reliability of Sparse Particles in Water: A Poisson Sampling Perspective

Demonstrates why larger sample volumes improve sparse-particle detection reliability and reduce false negatives.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19390222

 

4.5 Saltwater Changes Everything: Why Coastal and Ocean Microplastic Detection Requires New Field Methods

Explains why marine and coastal environments require dedicated methods due to salinity, complex chemistry, and field constraints.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19674868

 

4.6 Field Validation of a Portable Zero-Shear Optical Interaction Assay for Microplastic–Nanoplastic Detection in Coastal (High Salinity) Water Under Uncontrolled Conditions: San Francisco Bay (April 2026)

Real-world coastal validation under uncontrolled outdoor conditions.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19490782

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4.7 Multi-Site Validation Across the United States: Real-World Testing of a Portable Microplastic/Nanoplastic Water Assay

Demonstrates geographic robustness across multiple U.S. cities and water sources.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19673502
 

4.8 International Field Testing of a Portable Optical Interaction Assay in Municipal Tap Water: Singapore and the Philippines (April 2026)

Extends real-world validation across international urban settings.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19673596

 

4.9 Image-Based Turbidity Analysis in Natural Water Systems: A Scalable Smartphone Framework

Applies smartphone imaging to turbidity and general water quality monitoring.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19390542

 

 

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5. Policy & Regulatory Frameworks

These papers are written to support decision-making, regulation, and public communication.

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5.1 EPA Draft CCL 6 Prioritizes Microplastics: Technical and Policy Implications for Reliable Detection in Drinking Water

Focused response to emerging regulatory priorities and scalable monitoring needs.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19391419

 

5.2 Why Scalable Water Intelligence Requires Field Methods: The Limitations of Centralized Laboratories

Argues that centralized labs alone cannot support population-scale, repeat, geographically dense monitoring.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19675628

 

 

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6. Mitigation, Therapeutics & Closed-Loop Systems

These papers move beyond detection into solutions.

 

6.1 Interaction-Mediated Mitigation of Microplastic and Nanoplastic Burden Across Biological Systems

Introduces mitigation strategies based on sequestration, aggregation, or surface interaction rather than polymer destruction.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19323500

 

6.2 Closed-Loop Therapeutic Response Monitoring Using Optical Signatures in Biological Fluids

Explores feedback systems combining intervention with repeated monitoring in biological matrices.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19199734

 

6.3 When Plastic Degradation Enzymes Can Increase Risk: How Enzymatic Fragmentation May Generate More Reactive Nanoplastics and Influence Water Remediation Decisions

Examines how some remediation strategies may unintentionally increase nanoplastic burden and reactive surface area.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19661568

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Conclusion

The Ecotera portfolio represents an integrated attempt to modernize how emerging contaminants are detected, interpreted, monitored, and mitigated. Rather than treating environmental sensing, human exposure, and intervention as separate silos, these papers propose a connected framework built for real-world use.  Further updates will continue as new field data, validation studies, and technical manuscripts are completed.