There is a need for developing inexpensive field testing kits to assess the quality of the environment and detect the increasing number of emerging pollutants that are present in the environment and have been reported to cause harmful ecological and health effects. This presentation will describe the design, development and characterization of an universal biosensor platform for rapid, sensitive and specific detection of contaminants including heavy metals and endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment. The method is based on specific molecular recognition and multivalent binding of contaminants to the surface of responsive, custom designed nanostructured probes immobilzied on paper or within printable polymers that change optical and surface properties upon exposure to contaminants. The sensors are produced automatically by 2D or 3D printing; they are compact, robust and have regent-less operation. The low detection limit, ease of use, low cost and portability of these sensors make this approach particularly appealing for spot detection of environmental contamination. The method could serve the environmental community that is interested in rapid screening tools for evaluating the quality of water resources for environmental management, risk assessment and protection purposes.

Inexpensive 2D and 3D printed sensors for rapid instrument-free detection of emerging contaminants in water

2019 Fall National Meeting

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