Performing analytical chemistry on paper decreases raw material usage and waste generation by 100 fold when compared to traditional glassware and instrumental analyses. Paper analytical devices are useful in settings that lack access to analytical instrumentation, trained technicians, and the reagents needed to perform analytical chemistry.In this presentation, we will describe ways to perform basic analytical laboratory techniques on a piece of paper without using specialized glassware or instrumentation. A cell phone with a camera is all that is needed to allow colorimetric analysis. In one device, an iodometric titration was adapted for use on paper. The device can quantify 0-75 ppm iodine from iodate in a fortified salt matrix, achieving an absolute accuracy of 5 ppm and a precision of 5 ppm in a lab setting (n=110). This device correctly categorized 80% of salt samples at a manufacturing plant in Mombasa, Kenya while reducing the volume of chemical waste from 5L to 0.5L. It is currently undergoing an external validation at the South African Research Council. In another device, a kinetic assay (the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction) was incorporated onto paper for analysis of ppb levels of iodine in urine. Using cell phone pictures taken over time, it was possible to quantify 25-200 ppb I within 6 minutes (n=8). This method has an average absolute accuracy of 18% and a precision of 21%. A basic laboratory technique required for both of these devices is volume measurement. A known volume of test solution must be applied to the device. We will describe a method for accurate and precise volume measurement that does not require any volume measuring tools other than a piece of wax-patterned paper. By carrying out techniques performed by a chemist, analytical chemistry can be performed in a sustainable fashion by most anyone in any location.

Sustainable paper devices for quantifying ppm and ppb iodine levels

248th National Meeting (2014)

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