Electrochemical sensor for detecting water pollutants
New disposable electrochemical sensor for the on-site detection of water pollutants. It is a sample-to-result device that does not require manual sample pretretment.
Water pollution is an increasing global concern that damages human health, aquatic ecosystems, and economic growth.
Frequent monitoring of water is currently unfeasible due to the complexity of processes and equipment needed. New approaches using electrochemical methods determine waterpollutants in a faster and more user-friendly manner. However, different manual steps are still required, making in-field testing less convenient and sensor fabrication more difficult to be scaled up.
We have developed a new screen-printed electrochemical sensor using tailor-made functional materials. The sensor is portable, just requires sample addition and is user-friendly. Professionals without specific training can detect water pollutants on-site with no need for manual sample pretreatment. The resulting sensor approaches have been applied to the detection of diferent contaminants such as Chemical Oxygen Demand, heavy metals or halogenated compounds.