A simple and green analytical method for determination of iron based on micro flow analysis

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Materials Science

Background:

• Micro fluidic systems offer advantages in reduced sample and reagent consumption.
• Colorimetric analysis is a widely used technique for quantitative detection.
• Accurate iron determination in water is crucial for environmental and health assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple, inexpensive, and reagent-less colorimetric micro flow analysis (microFA) system.
• To apply the developed microFA system for the determination of iron in water samples.
• To evaluate the performance and efficiency of the proposed microFA system.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a T-shaped micro channel in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) using laser ablation.
• Integration of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for chip assembly and optical detection components.
• Colorimetric determination of Fe(III) using nitroso-R salt at 720 nm in an acetate buffer (pH 5).

Main Results:

• The microFA system demonstrated low reagent and sample consumption (<2.0 mL/h waste).
• High accuracy and precision were achieved with a relative standard deviation <2% and recovery of 98.7%.
• A wide linear range (0.05-4.0 µg/mL) with excellent linearity (r²=0.9994) was observed, alongside low detection limits (0.021 µg/mL).

Conclusions:

• The developed reagent-less microFA system is a cost-effective and efficient tool for iron determination in water.
• The system's performance characteristics make it suitable for environmental water quality monitoring.
• The microFA approach offers a sustainable alternative with reduced waste generation.