# Zero-shot Shape Classification of Nanoparticles in SEM Images using Vision Foundation Models

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03235 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.03235/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 12 of its 35 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 5 Aug 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Segment Anything](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.02643/) (2023)
- [DINOv2: Learning Robust Visual Features without Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.07193/) (2023)
- [Mask R-CNN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.06870/) (2017)
- [You Only Look Once: Unified, Real-Time Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.02640/) (2015)
- [Zero-Shot Text-to-Image Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.12092/) (2021)
- [Depth Anything V2](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09414/) (2024)
- [A Survey on Visual Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.12556/) (2020)
- [YOLOv11: An Overview of the Key Architectural Enhancements](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.17725/) (2024)
- [A Comprehensive Survey on Pretrained Foundation Models: A History from BERT to ChatGPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.09419/) (2023)
- [An Introduction to Vision-Language Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.17247/) (2024)
- [Is SAM 2 Better than SAM in Medical Image Segmentation?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.04212/) (2024)
- [Transfer Learning Applied to Computer Vision Problems: Survey on Current Progress, Limitations, and Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.07736/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Quantification and Classification of Carbon Nanotubes in Electron Micrographs using Vision Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.06673/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Accurate and efficient characterization of nanoparticle morphology in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images is critical for ensuring product quality in nanomaterial synthesis and accelerating development. However, conventional deep learning methods for shape classification require extensive labeled datasets and computationally demanding training, limiting their accessibility to the typical nanoparticle practitioner in research and industrial settings. In this study, we introduce a zero-shot classification pipeline that leverages two vision foundation models: the Segment Anything Model (SAM) for object segmentation and DINOv2 for feature embedding. By combining these models with a lightweight classifier, we achieve high-precision shape classification across three morphologically diverse nanoparticle datasets - without the need for extensive parameter fine-tuning. Our methodology outperforms a fine-tuned YOLOv11 and ChatGPT o4-mini-high baselines, demonstrating robustness to small datasets, subtle morphological variations, and domain shifts from natural to scientific imaging. Quantitative clustering metrics on PCA plots of the DINOv2 features are discussed as a means of assessing the progress of the chemical synthesis. This work highlights the potential of foundation models to advance automated microscopy image analysis, offering an alternative to traditional deep learning pipelines in nanoparticle research which is both more efficient and more accessible to the user.