PlastiTrax® Particles
| Fragments | Shape | Morphology | Size |
All microplastic fragments are produced in-house using a polymer-specific cryogenic milling process, ensuring controlled and reproducible particle generation. Following milling, a custom-developed wet sieving procedure is applied to separate the particles into defined size fractions.
This approach minimizes the formation of particle agglomerates and ensures a reliable and consistent size distribution for high-quality microplastic analysis.​
Optical Charakterization
The resulting fragments exhibit irregular and diverse shapes, similar to those found in environmental samples. Particle morphology varies depending on the polymer type, ranging from fiber-like structures to more rounded fragments. This variability reflects real-world conditions and enables environmentally relevant and realistic measurements in microplastic analysis.​
Each particle fraction is morphologically verified using microscopy and spectroscopic imaging techniques. Examples can be found below.
Polycarbonat (PC) fragments in size range 100-200 µm
Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) fragments in size range 50-100 µm.
Polyvinylchloride (PVC) fragments in size range 25-50 µm.
Polystyrene (PS) fragments in size range 20-25 µm.
Particle size distribution
The particle size distribution provides a detailed overview of the size range of the identified particles. In the example shown, the distribution of PMMA particles within the 20–100 µm size fraction displayed. This visualization allows users to quickly assess the size distribution and identify potential trends within the analyzed sample.
Small discrepancies between the expected and measured particle sizes may occur due to differences in the way particle size is determined. The particle sizes of MIQALab reference materials are specified as the minimum Feret diameter (Min Feret diameter), reflecting the particle dimensions obtained during the sieving process. In contrast, many analytical instruments and software packages report particle size as the maximum Feret diameter (Max Feret diameter).
As a result, particularly for larger and more elongated fragments, the reported particle size may differ slightly, even though the same particle is being measured. This difference is a consequence of the measurement principle rather than the analytical performance and should be considered when interpreting particle size distributions.
