Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026
07:22
Optical Detection of E. coli Bacteria by Mesoporous Silicon Biosensors
Published on: November 20, 2013
17.0K
A cross-reactive plasmonic sensing array for drinking water assessment
Justin R Sperling1, Baptiste Poursat1, Laurie Savage1
1James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow Glasgow UK Alasdair.Clark@glasgow.ac.uk.
Environmental Science. Nano
|December 11, 2023
Summary
A novel "nano-tastebud" sensor array accurately monitors drinking water quality. This technology differentiates treated from untreated water, ensuring public health and environmental safety.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Sensor Technology
- Water Quality Monitoring
Background:
- Continuous monitoring of remote drinking water purification systems is crucial for public and environmental health.
- Existing methods for water quality assessment face challenges in real-time, remote application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel sensor array for the continuous monitoring of drinking water composition.
- To assess the sensor's capability in differentiating water treatment stages and detecting compositional changes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a "nano-tastebud" sensor composed of eight chemically-tailored plasmonic metasurfaces.
- Performed comprehensive chemometric analysis of water samples and potential contaminants.
- Optimized sensor design and array configuration for specific water testing applications.
Main Results:
- The sensor array generated unique optical responses for different water samples.
- Achieved over 95% accuracy in differentiating untreated influent from treated effluent water in flow.
- Successfully detected compositional alterations in modified tap water samples.
Conclusions:
- The developed nano-tastebud sensor array offers a promising solution for real-time drinking water quality monitoring.
- Integration into water treatment facilities and distribution systems can enhance water safety and management.
- This technology has the potential to significantly improve human and environmental health outcomes.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Potentiometry: Membrane Electrodes
Membrane electrodes, also known as p-ion electrodes, use membranes that selectively interact with free analyte ions, generating a potential difference across the membrane. The resulting membrane potential, known as the asymmetry potential, is not zero even when analyte concentrations on both sides of the membrane are equal. The membrane's response is typically not selective to a single analyte but proportional to the concentration of all ions in the sample solution capable of interacting at the...
01:17Precipitation and Co-precipitation
Precipitation and coprecipitation methods can be used to separate a mixture of ions in a solution. In qualitative inorganic analysis, ions that form sparingly soluble precipitates with the same reagent are separated based on the differences in solubility products. For example, consider the separation of Cu(II) and Fe(II) ions by precipitation as insoluble sulfides. First, copper(II) sulfide is precipitated by the addition of acidic H2S, where the dissociation of H2S is suppressed. Adding H2S...
01:15High-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Types of Detectors
The role of the detectors in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is to analyze the solutes as they exit from the chromatographic column. The detector recognizes the solute's property and generates corresponding electrical signals, which are converted into a readable graph of the detector's response versus elution time called a chromatogram at the computer. There are several types of HPLC detectors, each with its own advantages and limitations, depending on the analyte properties and...
01:09Ion-Exchange Chromatography
Ion-exchange chromatography, or IEC, is a technique for separating ions based on their affinity for the stationary phase. The stationary phase is a cross-linked polymer resin with covalently attached ionic functional groups. The functional groups can be either positively charged (cation exchangers) or negatively charged (anion exchangers). A cation exchanger consists of a polymeric anion and active cations, while an anion exchanger is a polymeric cation with active anions. The choice of...