Determination of Mercury with a Miniature Sensor for Point-of-care Testing.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Toxicology

Background:

• Subsistence gold mining in developing countries uses mercury, leading to significant mercury exposure risks via inhalation.
• Mercury exposure poses severe health risks, and monitoring is crucial for affected populations.
• Current gold standard methods for mercury detection in urine are expensive, time-consuming, and inaccessible in resource-limited settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid, low-cost, and portable electrochemical sensor for detecting mercury in urine.
• To enable point-of-care mercury exposure assessment in regions affected by artisanal gold mining.

Main Methods:

• Development of a miniature electrochemical sensor utilizing a thin-film gold electrode.
• Application of anodic stripping voltammetry for mercury detection.
• Testing the sensor's performance with human urine samples.

Main Results:

• The sensor successfully detected mercury at trace levels in urine.
• Achieved a limit of detection of approximately 15 ppb Hg.
• Demonstrated a linear detection range from 20-80 ppb Hg, well below the US Biological Exposure Index (BEI) limit.

Conclusions:

• The developed miniature electrochemical sensor offers a viable, cost-effective solution for mercury monitoring.
• Its portability and ease of use make it suitable for point-of-care applications in developing countries.
• This technology can aid in assessing and mitigating mercury exposure risks in vulnerable populations.