Fastest microfluidics chip pulls PFAS from water in five minutes

Researchers from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) and Chungnam National University have developed a novel microfluidic device that rapidly extracts pollutants directly from contaminated solids, bypassing the need for complex filtration steps traditionally required in environmental testing. Published in ACS Sensors, this device uses a trap-based microchamber design where a tiny extractant droplet selectively absorbs target analytes as the sample solution flows through an adjacent channel, allowing solid particles to pass by without interference. This innovation addresses a major challenge in analytical chemistry by enabling rapid, reliable extraction from samples containing solids like sand or soil, which typically hinder accuracy and complicate workflows. The team demonstrated the device’s effectiveness by detecting perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a persistent PFAS chemical, in under five minutes and extracting the pharmaceutical carbamazepine (CBZ) from sand-containing slurry without prior filtration. The device’s streamlined process reduces time, cost, and complexity while maintaining high reliability, making it suitable