DEP-On-Go for Simultaneous Sensing of Multiple Heavy Metals Pollutants in Environmental Samples.

Madhu Biyani,Manish Biyani,Radhika Biyani,Eiichi Tamiya,Yuzuru Takamura,Tomoko Tsuchihashi,Hiromi Ushijima

doi:10.3390/s17010045

Abstract

We describe a simple and affordable “Disposable electrode printed (DEP)-On-Go” sensing platform for the rapid on-site monitoring of trace heavy metal pollutants in environmental samples for early warning by developing a mobile electrochemical device composed of palm-sized potentiostat and disposable unmodified screen-printed electrode chips. We present the analytical performance of our device for the sensitive detection of major heavy metal ions, namely, mercury, cadmium, lead, arsenic, zinc, and copper with detection limits of 1.5, 2.6, 4.0, 5.0, 14.4, and, 15.5 μg·L−1, respectively. Importantly, the utility of this device is extended to detect multiple heavy metals simultaneously with well-defined voltammograms and similar sensitivity. Finally, “DEP-On-Go” was successfully applied to detect heavy metals in real environmental samples from groundwater, tap water, house dust, soil, and industry-processed rice and noodle foods. We evaluated the efficiency of this system with a linear correlation through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and the results suggested that this system can be reliable for on-site screening purposes. On-field applications using real samples of groundwater for drinking in the northern parts of India support the easy-to-detect, low-cost (<1 USD), rapid (within 5 min), and reliable detection limit (ppb levels) performance of our device for the on-site detection and monitoring of multiple heavy metals in resource-limited settings.

Highlights

Heavy metal-induced toxicity is an uncommon issue in medical diagnostics and can result in significant morbidity and mortality
We developed a ready-to-use, simple, easy-to-use, inexpensive, mobile electrochemical sensing device for monitoring of multiple heavy metals using our originally-developed Disposable electrode printed (DEP)-chip and palm-sized potentiostat device
We evaluated and showed the system’s versatility for the sensitive, selective and simultaneous determination of heavy metal ions in real samples from groundwater for drinking, tap water, environmental dust, soil and industry-processed solid foods samples, including rice and noodles

Summary

Introduction

Heavy metal-induced toxicity is an uncommon issue in medical diagnostics and can result in significant morbidity and mortality. Some typical heavy metals, such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg), are prime examples that are considered systemic toxicants to the human body, even at low levels of exposure. These metals can induce multiple organ damage, including neurological impairment, autoimmune diseases, joint disease, kidney and Sensors 2017, 17, 45; doi:10.3390/s17010045 www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors. Several reports based on epidemiological and experimental studies have shown that long-term sub-threshold exposure to these metals results in the promotion of carcinogenesis [8,9,10] These heavy metals generally enter our environment by natural means, such as soil erosion, geological weathering, and anthropogenic activities, such as industrial effluents, urban runoff, and sewage discharge. The challenge is to enable heavy metal testing to be performed in the resource-limited settings that accounts for more than 80% of the world’s population

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Conclusion