WATERSAFE: A MICROPLASTIC AND PFAS DETECTION SYSTEM

Abstract

The average adult male consumes 142 microplastics per day, adding up to almost 50,000 particles per year. This consumption has serious health effects such as reduced metabolism, reproductive toxicity and even cancer. Current methods of microplastic detection cost more than $100k and require specialized laboratory training. Our project aims to create a low cost, small footprint, intuitive system able to be used by anyone. By employing a vacuum filtration system we concentrate the particles in a liter of water onto a 13mm diameter non-fluorescent filter. This filter is then imaged under our custom made, interchangeable fluorescence microscopy system, that boasts a 1.2um per pixel resolution. The system has an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) that walks the user through the entire process of imaging their sample including allowing the user to customize the gain, focus, exposure time and excitation light of the system. Overall, the system, costing less than $2700, is able to identify, count and size particles with 95% accuracy. While further research needs to be done in order to differentiate between microplastics and other contaminants, our project pioneers a new future of user-friendly, low-cost particle detection suited for laboratories and homeowners alike.