Microscopy Beyond the Lab: Insights from the EnderScope Community Project
DOI: 10.22443/rms.mmc2025.153
Authors
Niamh Burke (1), Mark Pickering (1, 2)
Affiliations
- University College Dublin
- UCD Earth Institute
Here we explore the interaction of community groups with an open-source microscope designed for microplastic detection - the EnderScope.
Marine microplastic pollution is a global problem, yet despite this our ability to assess the extent of this problem and the effectiveness of mitigation strategies remains limited. According to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (specifically target 14.1), there is ‘no internationally established methodology or standards [yet] available’ to measure floating plastic debris such as marine microplastics.
One could approach this problem could be using high quality measurements from techniques such as FTIR or Raman spectroscopy. However these instruments are expensive, costing tens of thousands of euro, putting them out of reach of many potential users and thereby limiting the number of measurements that can be made. We propose a different approach which involves using a more crude yet cost efficient method of microplastic detection and scaling up the number of measurements we can make. This method involves taking a sample of seawater and digesting the organic material (using acids, bases or heat) and filtering and staining the remaining inorganic material with a fluorescent dye, Nile Red. Using traditional fluorescence microscopy, Nile Red stained microplastics can be manually detected and counted.
In order to dramatically scale up the measurement of microplastics in seawater samples, a citizen science approach can be adopted, involving members of the public in sample collection, imaging and analysis. To do this we need a suitable instrument that can be distributed ant scale and used by as many people as possible, especially non-expert users. This instrument should be low-cost and should automate the labour intensive process of manually detecting Nile Red stained microplastics with fluorescence microscopy in order to make this method more time efficient.
Therefore, we developed the EnderScope, a novel, low-cost microscope for automated scanning and detection of microplastics filtered from seawater samples. The EnderScope is based on the mechanics of a low-cost 3D printer (Creality Ender 3). The hotend of the printer is replaced with an optics module, allowing for the reliable and well calibrated motion system of the 3D printer to be used for automated scanning over a large area.
Throughout the design process, every effort was made to ensure the EnderScope would be easy to build and use. Care was taken to ensure that the parts required to build the EnderScope would be easily accessible, for example a ubiquitous, hobbyist 3D printer was chosen for the design. In order to reduce costs, many of the optomechanical parts are 3D printed and low-cost electronics are used for illumination and control of the microscope.
In addition to this, we developed detailed documentation showing the step-by-step assembly of the EnderScope and made this publicly available through an online repository. Once the design of the EnderScope was finalized, we put out an open call to community groups in Ireland, inviting them to receive an EnderScope to build and use in their group.
Ten groups agreed to receive an EnderScope. These groups ranged from educational institutions, community groups and environmental groups. Eight of these groups opted to receive an EnderScope kit and assemble the EnderScope themselves. The remaining two groups opted to receive a pre-assembled EnderScope.
After using the EnderScope for approximately 1-4 months, five of these groups agreed to share their experiences at the Microscopy Society of Ireland Annual Symposium in January 2025. During their presentation, the groups mentioned what part of the assembly and use of the EnderScope they found easy and what they found challenging. For example, several groups commented that more images in the assembly instructions would be helpful and that some instructions assumed too much prior knowledge.
The insights of the EnderScope Community Groups will allow us to improve and co-design the final version of the EnderScope with the community. It will also allow us to understand what is needed to make open-hardware in general, more attractive and easy to use by members of the public. This feedback will be helpful in aiding other researchers to design open-instrumentation that is truly accessible.
References
Keywords
Microplastics, community engagement, open-source