1 research outputs found
Microfluidic Detection and Analysis of Microplastics Using Surface Nanodroplets
Detection of microplastics from water is crucial for
various reasons,
such as food safety monitoring, monitoring of the fate and transport
of microplastics, and development of preventive measures for their
occurrence. Currently, microplastics are detected by isolating them
using filtration, separation by centrifugation, or membrane filtration,
subsequently followed by analysis using well-established analytical
methods, such as Raman spectroscopy. However, due to their variability
in shape, color, size, and density, isolation using the conventional
methods mentioned above is cumbersome and time-consuming. In this
work, we show a surface-nanodroplet-decorated microfluidic device
for isolation and analysis of small microplastics (diameter of 10
μm) from water. Surface nanodroplets are able to capture nearby
microplastics as water flows through the microfluidic device. Using
a model microplastic solution, we show that microplastics of various
sizes and types can be captured and visualized by using optical and
fluorescence microscopy. More importantly, as the surface nanodroplets
are pinned on the microfluidic channel, the captured microplastics
can also be analyzed using a Raman spectroscope, which enables both
physical (i.e., size and shape) and chemical (i.e., type) characterization
of microplastics at a single-particle level. The technique shown here
can be used as a simple, fast, and economical detection method for
small microplastics