Image cytometry of irregular microplastic particles in a cross-slot microchannel utilizing viscoelastic focusing

• Published in: The Korean journal of chemical engineering Vol. 37; no. 12; pp. 2136 - 2142
• Main Authors: Kim, Bookun, Lee, Hwang, Lee, Seong Jae, Kwon, Jung-Hwan, Kim, Ju Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2020; 한국화학공학회
• Subjects: Biotechnology; Catalysis; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Materials Science; Transport Phenomena; 화학공학; Viscoelastic Particle Focusing; Extensional Flow; Microplastic Particle; Cross-slot Microchannel; Oblate-shape Particle
• ISSN: 0256-1115; 1975-7220
• DOI: 10.1007/s11814-020-0670-7

Microplastic particles have recently attracted much attention owing to their potential adverse effects on marine and terrestrial environments. Although several studies have been conducted on this topic, one of the prominent existing challenges is developing analytical methods to precisely characterize isolated microplastics. Specifically, a systematic method that determines both the size and shape of irregular micron-sized particles is required because conventional optical methods provide only two-dimensional images of microplastics and cannot easily handle cases of tilting or aggregation of particles. In this study, we demonstrate that previously developed microfluidic technologies can be successfully applied to measure the size and shape of oblate microparticles utilizing viscoelastic particle focusing. Furthermore, this technique is also applicable for irregular microplastic fragments that are predominantly found in environmental samples.