A team of researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kookmin University (President JEONG, SEUNG RYUL), led by Professor Temp Hyung (students Lee Young-seok, Choi Yoon-taek, and Shim Jae-hyun), has developed a hybrid gas chromatography chip that can simultaneously concentrate and separate low-concentration mixed gases. The research was published as the cover paper of the Lab on a Chip journal (February 2024). 

Lab on a Chip is a world-class journal that publishes cutting-edge research in the field of miniaturization, ranging from basic research to advanced applications in various fields such as biology, medicine, materials science, analytical chemistry, and environmental monitoring. 

Aiming to develop a small, portable gas analysis system for indoor air quality monitoring, Professor Lim's team announced the world's first development of a hybrid chip that can perform two functions on a single chip: enrichment of low-concentration gases and separation of multi-species gases, which are essential for analyzing the types and concentrations of low-concentration, multi-species gases present in the atmosphere. This opens up the possibility of miniaturizing and portable gas analysis systems and reducing production costs.

This breakthrough has paved the way for the practical use of portable gas analysis devices for indoor air quality management, which is receiving increasing global attention as VOCs present indoors have a negative impact on the human body. It is also significant in terms of its high application in environmental, safety, and health fields, such as effective on-site detection of low-concentration pollutants generated in various industrial processes such as semiconductors and displays, and diagnosis of diseases through exhaled gas analysis.