A pen for quickly picking out microplastics under a microscope

Abstract

A pen for quickly selecting microplastics under a microscope comprises an air bag, a needle moving disc, a hollow needle, a pen body, a scale bar and a needle fixing screw. The pen body has a central through hole, one end of the pen body is flat, the other end of the pen body is pointed, a scale bar is printed on the surface of the pen body, a hollow needle is built into the central through hole of the pen body, one end of the hollow needle is flat, the other end of the hollow needle is pointed, a needle moving disc is installed on the head of the hollow needle, and the length of the hollow needle exposed can be controlled by moving the needle moving disc up and down, a threaded hole is opened on the side wall of the pen body, the threaded hole intersects with the central through hole of the pen body, the needle fixing screw is screwed into the threaded hole, the needle fixing screw can fix the hollow needle, the air bag is located at the flat end of the hollow needle and is connected to the hollow needle, and an air pressure difference is created by squeezing the air bag. The present invention can realize the preliminary screening of plastic particle size under a microscope, evaluate whether it meets the microplastic size definition, and then quickly and portably select microplastics in the filter membrane for experimental measurement.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of microplastic selection process under a microscope, which can be used for particle selection and preliminary measurement of particle size, and in particular relates to a simple pen for quickly selecting and picking out microplastics. Background Art

[0002] Internationally, microplastics are generally defined as plastic fragments with a particle size of less than 5mm. These fragments vary in form, source, and type. Scientists worldwide have conducted extensive research on microplastics across diverse fields and dimensions to confirm their long-term impact on the ecological environment and humanity. Microplastic particles have been detected in our living environment, including rivers, lakes, oceans, soil, air, and in the bodies of animals. Furthermore, research indicates that the smaller the particle size of microplastics, the greater the potential impact on humans, as they have a larger surface area to absorb and accumulate harmful pollutants, and are more easily transferred and accumulated within organisms. To meet monitoring and experimental requirements, the measurement of microplastics in seawater typically uses a particle size range of 0.05mm to 5mm. A commonly used qualitative detection method for microplastics is infrared spectroscopy. When testing microplastic samples, the influence of other impurities must be eliminated. Microplastic particles are first individually isolated from a filter membrane using tweezers or a fine needle under a high-magnification visible light microscope. These particles are then placed on a diamond cell attachment and tested using an infrared microscope in transmission mode. However, due to limitations such as manual picking, needle size, tweezers specifications, and environmental factors, it is difficult to select microplastics with small particle sizes. Testing is often limited to samples larger than 100-200μm. Once microplastics fall onto the lab bench or the floor, they are difficult to identify and recover with the naked eye, which can lead to new microplastic contamination in the laboratory environment. Larger microplastic particles adhering to the fine needle are also easily dislodged by the operator's hand movements, requiring repeated picking operations. The entire process, from picking to diamond pool sample preparation to spectral acquisition, can take 5-10 minutes or even longer. A single worker working continuously for 8 hours can only test around 80 particles, not including data collection. This results in low efficiency and is unable to meet the massive demand for microplastic testing. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the low efficiency problem of the background technology and provide a pen for quickly selecting microplastics under a microscope. The present invention is convenient and simple to use and can quickly select microplastics of various particle sizes under a microscope.

[0004] A pen for quickly selecting microplastics under a microscope comprises an air bag, a needle moving disc, a hollow needle, a pen body, a scale bar and a needle fixing screw. The pen body has a central through hole, one end of the pen body is flat and the other end is pointed, a scale bar is printed on the surface of the pen body, a hollow needle is built into the central through hole of the pen body, one end of the hollow needle is flat and the other end is pointed, a needle moving disc is installed on the head of the hollow needle, and the exposed length of the hollow needle can be controlled by moving the needle moving disc up and down, a threaded hole is opened on the side wall of the pen body, the threaded hole intersects with the central through hole of the pen body, the needle fixing screw is screwed into the threaded hole, and the needle fixing screw can fix the hollow needle, the air bag is located at the flat end of the hollow needle and is connected to the hollow needle, and an air pressure difference is created by squeezing the air bag.

[0005] The pen body, needle moving disc and needle fixing screw are made of acrylic material; the hollow needle is made of steel; and the airbag is made of rubber material.

[0006] The method of using the present invention:

[0007] By squeezing the airbag to create an air pressure difference, suction is generated at the tip of the hollow needle to adsorb microplastic particles with a particle size of ≥0.05mm, while microplastic particles with a particle size of <0.05mm are sucked into the airbag for collection and storage. The airbag is slightly squeezed again to cause the microplastic particles to fall off. The exposed length of the hollow needle can also be shortened by adjusting the needle moving disk, allowing the microplastic particles to hit the pen body and fall off, thereby achieving the purpose of separation.

[0008] The needle fixing screw is made of acrylic. On the one hand, it can fix the position of the needle. On the other hand, the hardness of acrylic is lower than that of steel, which can avoid destructive extrusion deformation of the steel hollow needle due to over-tightening.

[0009] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0010] 1. The present invention designs the diameters of the pen body, hollow needle, hollow part of the hollow needle, and needle tip according to industry standards and industry survey and research practices, thereby facilitating industry professionals to quickly identify microplastics that meet size requirements under a microscope.

[0011] 2. The present invention designs a hollow needle with a narrow air passage and matches it with a small air bag, so that only a slight squeezing of the air bag is required to generate a sufficient air pressure difference to create suction or discharge force, and the narrow hollow needle air passage can maintain the suction or discharge force stable without sudden changes.

[0012] 3. The present invention adjusts the exposed length of the hollow needle by designing a needle moving disk. Since the hollow needle is very thin, it is beneficial to freely adjust the hollow needle without breaking or bending the needle.

[0013] 4. The present invention designs a scale bar from the tip of the pen body to the flat end of the pen body, so as to know the length of the exposed needle, and then compare, measure and know the approximate particle size of the plastic ≤ 100 μm.

[0014] 5. The present invention designs the diameter of the hollow part of the hollow needle to be 0.05 mm, which is conducive to the recovery, collection and storage of microplastic particles with a particle size of less than 50 μm, and does not cause secondary microplastic pollution in the laboratory environment.

[0015] 6. The present invention can achieve preliminary identification of the size of plastic particles under a microscope, evaluate whether they meet the definition of microplastic size, and then quickly and conveniently select microplastics in the filter membrane for experimental measurement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention.

[0017] Among them: 1-air bag; 2-needle moving disk; 3-scale bar; 4-pen body; 5-hollow needle; 6-needle fixing screw; 7-center through hole; 8-threaded hole. Implementation Method

[0018] like Figure 1 As shown, a pen for quickly selecting microplastics under a microscope includes an air bag 1, a needle moving disc 2, a hollow needle 5, a pen body 4, a scale bar 3 and a needle fixing screw 6. The pen body 4 has a central through hole 7, one end of the pen body 4 is flat, and the other end of the pen body 4 is pointed. The scale bar 3 is printed on the surface of the pen body 4, and a hollow needle 5 is built in the central through hole 7 of the pen body 4. The hollow needle 5 has a flat head at one end and a pointed head at the other end. A needle moving disc 2 is installed on the head of the hollow needle 5, and the exposed length of the hollow needle 5 can be controlled by moving the needle moving disc 2 up and down. A threaded hole 8 is opened on the side wall of the pen body 4, and the threaded hole 8 intersects with the central through hole 7 of the pen body 4. The needle fixing screw 6 is screwed into the threaded hole 8, and the needle fixing screw 6 can fix the hollow needle 5. The air bag 1 is located at the flat head end of the hollow needle 5 and is connected to the hollow needle 5. The air pressure difference is created by squeezing the air bag 1.

[0019] The pen body 4, the needle moving disc 2 and the needle fixing screw 6 are made of acrylic; the hollow needle 5 is made of steel; and the airbag 1 is made of rubber.

[0020] The pen body 4 has a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 6 cm; the scale bar 3 is 6 cm long, and the minimum scale interval of the scale bar 3 is 0.1 mm; the central through hole 7 of the pen body 4 has a diameter of 0.35 mm; the hollow needle 5 has a diameter of 0.33 mm, the diameter of the hollow part of the hollow needle 5 is 0.05 mm, and the diameter of the needle tip of the hollow needle 5 is 0.1 mm; the diameter of the needle moving disk 2 is 3 mm; and the diameter of the airbag 1 is 4 mm.

[0021] The method of using the present invention:

[0022] By squeezing the airbag 1 to create an air pressure difference, suction is generated at the needle tip of the hollow needle 5 to adsorb microplastic particles with a particle size of ≥0.05mm, while microplastic particles with a particle size of <0.05mm are sucked into the airbag for collection and storage. The airbag 1 is slightly squeezed again to cause the microplastic particles to fall off. The exposed length of the hollow needle 5 can also be shortened by adjusting the needle moving disc 2, allowing the microplastic particles to hit the pen body 4 and fall off, thereby achieving the purpose of separation.

[0023] The needle fixing screw 6 is made of acrylic material. On the one hand, it can fix the position of the needle. On the other hand, the hardness of acrylic is lower than that of steel, which can avoid destructive extrusion deformation of the steel hollow needle 5 due to over-tightening.

[0024] 1. Different from the electrostatic attraction method in the prior art, the present invention uses the suction generated by pressure difference to select microplastics under a microscope. Moreover, the airbag 1 is small, with a diameter of 4mm. A small pressure difference can be generated by squeezing, creating a corresponding small suction force. While the suction force is strong, it will not cause deformation of the microplastics.

[0025] 2. The diameter of the airbag 1 is 4 mm, and the diameter of the needle moving disc 2 is 3 mm. The needle moving disc 2 is smaller than the airbag 1, and the needle moving disc 2 is below the airbag 1. The purpose of this design is to avoid discomfort and inconvenience to the thumb and index finger of the human body during the squeezing of the airbag 1.

[0026] 3. The pen body 4 has a diameter of 5mm, with one end flat and the other pointed. This design is based on the fact that "internationally, plastic fragments with a particle size of less than 5mm are generally defined as microplastics." The purpose of this design is to intuitively and quickly determine whether the selected plastic particles meet the definition of "microplastics". In addition, the pointed design can expand the field of view when selecting particles under a microscope.

[0027] 4. The pen body 4 is made of acrylic. The purpose of this design is to prevent electrostatic attraction between plastics. When the selected microplastic particles touch the pen body, they will fall off naturally. In addition, acrylic is not a major microplastic pollutant.

[0028] 5. The needle fixing screw 6 is made of acrylic. The purpose of this design is that on the one hand it can fix the position of the needle, and on the other hand the hardness of acrylic is lower than that of iron, which can avoid destructive extrusion deformation of the steel hollow needle 5 due to over-tightening.

[0029] 6. The pen body 4 is designed with a central through hole 7, which can be used to insert the hollow needle 5, and the hollow needle 5 can be updated and replaced.

[0030] 7. The diameter of the hollow needle 5 is 0.33 mm. The hollow design of the hollow needle 5 can generate a pressure difference inside the needle by squeezing the airbag 1. The design of 0.05 mm in diameter is based on the minimum microplastic size specified in "Determination of microplastics in seawater, in order to meet monitoring and experimental requirements, usually the particle size range is measured to be 0.05 mm-5 mm". Microplastics with a particle size ≥ 0.05 mm can be selected, and microplastics with a particle size ≤ 0.05 mm are recovered and sucked into the airbag 1. The airbag 1 can be updated and replaced, and can properly handle microplastic particles of all sizes without causing further pollution to the environment. On the other hand, the narrow hollow part can achieve strong attraction by only slightly squeezing the airbag.

[0031] 8. The diameter of the hollow needle 5 is 0.33 mm. The design of 0.33 mm diameter originates from the current trawling in the ocean to collect microplastics in seawater. The trawl nets used are generally microplastic trawl nets with a mesh size of 330 μm. This design can help to quickly identify whether the size of microplastic particles meets the needs of trawling surveys.

[0032] 9. The hollow needle 5 has a flat head at one end and a pointed head at the other end, and the diameter of the needle tip is 0.1 mm. The pointed tip design is conducive to expanding the field of view under the microscope. The 0.1 mm diameter design is conducive to quickly identifying the size of microplastics, because after collecting seawater samples from the ocean, they often need to be rinsed in a stainless steel sieve with a pore size of 0.1 mm.

[0033] 10. The pen body 4 has a 6 cm long scale bar 3 with a minimum scale interval of 0.1 mm. The needle can be moved by the disc 2 to adjust the length of the needle to compare, measure, and know the size of large plastic particles (> 5 mm).

[0034] The present invention can achieve preliminary identification of the size of plastic particles under a microscope, evaluate whether they meet the definition of microplastic size, and then quickly and conveniently select microplastics in the filter membrane for experimental measurement.

Claims

1. A pen for quickly selecting microplastics under a microscope, characterized by: The invention comprises an air bag (1), a needle moving disc (2), a hollow needle (5), a pen body (4), a scale bar (3) and a needle fixing screw (6), wherein the pen body (4) has a central through hole (7), one end of the pen body (4) is flat, and the other end of the pen body (4) is pointed, and the scale bar (3) is printed on the surface of the pen body (4), and a hollow needle (5) is built into the central through hole (7) of the pen body (4), one end of the hollow needle (5) is flat, and the other end of the hollow needle (5) is pointed, and the head of the hollow needle (5) is provided with A needle moving disc (2) is provided, and the length of the hollow needle (5) exposed is controlled by moving the needle moving disc (2) up and down. A threaded hole (8) is provided on the side wall of the pen body (4), and the threaded hole (8) intersects with the central through hole (7) of the pen body (4). A needle fixing screw (6) is screwed into the threaded hole (8), and the needle fixing screw (6) can fix the hollow needle (5). An air bag (1) is located at the flat end of the hollow needle (5) and is connected to the hollow needle (5). An air pressure difference is created by squeezing the air bag (1).

2. The pen for quickly selecting microplastics under a microscope according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pen body (4), the needle moving disc (2) and the needle fixing screw (6) are made of acrylic material; the hollow needle (5) is made of steel; and the airbag (1) is made of rubber material.

3. The pen for quickly selecting microplastics under a microscope according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pen body (4) has a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 6 cm; the scale bar (3) has a length of 6 cm and a minimum scale interval of 0.1 mm; the central through hole (7) of the pen body (4) has a diameter of 0.35 mm; the hollow needle (5) has a diameter of 0.33 mm, the diameter of the hollow part of the hollow needle (5) is 0.05 mm, and the diameter of the needle tip of the hollow needle (5) is 0.1 mm; the diameter of the needle moving disc (2) is 3 mm; and the diameter of the air bag (1) is 4 mm.

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