Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Canada have developed a low-cost, portable tool to measure… Plastic In our food and drink with precision. The innovative tool delivers results within minutes and displays them in an easy-to-understand way, whether by a food processing laboratory technician or a non-specialist who cares about their morning cup of coffee.
The gadget, which connects to an app, uses technology that makes plastic particles so small that they can’t be seen with the naked eye light up.
What’s our problem with plastic?
Nano plastic Microplastics are tiny particles that are produced by the breakdown of plastics such as lunch boxes, cups and utensils. They are found in our food, our water and the air we breathe. Being very small particles with a large surface area, they are of particular concern to human health due to their increased ability to absorb toxins and penetrate biological barriers within the human body.
The long-term effects of ingesting plastic from drinks, food and even airborne plastic particles are still being studied, but studies show cause for concern.
“The degradation of large plastics into microplastics and nanoplastics poses significant threats to food systems, ecosystems and human health,” said Dr. Tianxi Yang, an assistant professor in the School of Earth and Food Systems, who developed the tool.
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He added, according to the website, Youre Alert “This new technology enables rapid and low-cost detection of plastic particles, which could help protect our health and ecosystems.”
The new tool
Detecting these materials typically requires highly skilled personnel and expensive equipment. Dr. Yang’s team wanted to make detection faster, easier and more reliable.
The research team created a small, 3D-printed, biodegradable box containing a wireless digital microscope, green light, and a special filter, and used machine learning algorithms and combined it with imaging software to measure the plastic.
The result is a portable tool that works with a smartphone or other mobile device to detect the number of plastic particles in a sample. The tool only needs a small liquid sample—less than a drop of water—that makes the plastic particles glow under green light in a microscope to be imaged and measured.
“Once the microscope in the box captures the luminescent image, the app matches the pixel area of the image to the number of plastic particles. The report shows if plastic is present and how many. Each test costs just a cent and a half,” said co-author Haoming (Peter) Yang, a master’s student in the School of Earth and Food Systems.
In the study published in the journal “ACS PublicationsOn August 12, Dr. Yang’s team tested polystyrene cups, filling them with 50 ml of boiling distilled water and letting them cool for 30 minutes. The results showed that the cups released hundreds of millions of nanoplastic particles that were roughly 1 percent the width of a human hair or smaller.
“To reduce plastic intake, it is important to consider avoiding petroleum-based plastic products, choosing alternatives such as glass or stainless steel for food containers. Developing biodegradable packaging materials is also important to replace traditional plastics and move towards a more sustainable world,” said Dr. Yang.
The instrument is currently calibrated to measure polystyrene, but the machine learning algorithm could be modified to measure different types of plastic, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The researchers’ next goal is to commercialize the device for analyzing plastic particles in other real-world applications.
