Issue 43, 2022

Electrokinetic separation techniques for studying nano- and microplastics

Abstract

In recent years, microplastics have been found in seawater, soil, food, and even human blood and tissues. The ubiquity of microplastics is alarming, but the health and environmental impacts of microplastics are just beginning to be understood. Accordingly, sampling, separating, and quantifying exposure to microplastics to devise a total risk assessment is the focus of ongoing research. Unfortunately, traditional separation methods (i.e., size- and density-based methods) unintentionally exclude the smallest microplastics (<10 μm). Limited data about the smallest microplastics is problematic because they are likely the most pervasive and have distinct properties from their larger plastic counterparts. To that end, in this Perspective, we discuss using electrokinetic methods for separating the smallest microplastics. Specifically, we describe three methods for forming electric field gradients, discuss key results within the field for continuously separating microplastics, and lastly discuss research avenues which we deem critical for advancing electrokinetic separation platforms for targeting the smallest microplastics.

Graphical abstract: Electrokinetic separation techniques for studying nano- and microplastics

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
18 Jul 2022
Accepted
14 Okt 2022
First published
24 Okt 2022
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 12616-12624

Electrokinetic separation techniques for studying nano- and microplastics

J. R. Thompson and R. M. Crooks, Chem. Sci., 2022, 13, 12616 DOI: 10.1039/D2SC04019K

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