Project number
26056
Organization
Kidney ADVANCE Project - NIH/ACABI
Offering
ENGR498-F2025-S2026
Project Goal/Summary: The purpose of this project to develop a functional, PORTABLE Pocket/point-of care analysis system to detect 1. Microplastics, 2. Heavy Metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury) and 3. Inorganics (Nitrate/Nitrite and Phosphates) i.e. dangerous, health threatening water contaminants, in water or other similar ingestible fluids; This system will reduce personal and group water risk, while serving as tool for monitoring and protection. Clean Water for a Safe Future – Healthy Body and Kidneys!
Project Background: Increasingly our water supply is being contaminated with pollutants from industry, waste discard and agriculture that is difficult to detect and difficult to remove. Despite attempts at community purification contaminants slip through. Three classes of agents: 1. Small size plastic fragments and particles – plastic micro and nanoparticles, 2. Heavy metals - lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury and 3. Inorganics – Nitrates/nitrites and phosphates are becoming prevalent in the environment, creeping into our water supply and finding their way into ingestible water, liquids and foods. These materials present long-term hazards, not only to the individual but to society and to all higher animal life. The particular invidious nature of these materials is their long-term durability and persistence – in both water, the environment, and in the body, once ingested. These agents have been shown to induce a range of health consequences including: elevation of cholesterol levels, liver and kidney abnormalities, altered thyroid function, as well as effects on reproductive health and certain malignancy risks. This project aims at developing a simple, portable, pocket/point-of care system system, that may be dispersed in the community – at home and in regional labs to assess potable water quality. Developing a system of harmful agent monitoring will allow a present and future look as to the state of contamination and will lend itself to corrective actions. Also, data supplied may amassed to develop large amounts of data for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence approaches to this environmental and health problem for a safer future.
Requirements: 1. Jump – in Review and define microplastics, heavy metals and inorganics – what are they, what end-organ biological damage can each induce, and what is their environmental prevalence and distribution in Arizona and around the U.S.? 2. Detection methods - For each contaminant group define the range of methods that may be utilized to detect each, their sensitivity ease-of-use and cost-effectiveness. 3. Preferred Build: Design a small footprint device (size of textbook max, more like a tablet, cell phone or voltmeter) with cassettes that integrate with a Smartphone and connects to a display/graphical user interface and the cloud. 4. Test strips/Cassettes (for the device- FOCUS ON PAPER MICROFLUIDIC, or CHANNEL MICROFLUIDICs as preferred DETECTION METHODS. Goal of detection: 1 order of magnitude < to 2 orders of magnitude > MCL (maximum contaminant level) for each contaminant, e.g. 0.5 to 0.005 mg/ml for Cadmium 5. SMARTPHONE USE - for readout and data collection of strips/cassette, processing and streaming to cloud and an AI TOOL. 6. Microplastics -in particular Device will detect and size - Team can benefit from work of prior Sr Design team (2024 and 2025 BOTH award winning) - use optics, small laser or electrostatic means for particle detection. 7. Report – Alignment/Integration with environmental standards – device/system will develop a standard form readout and report that in accordance with evolving health agency/public health reporting standards, e.g. AZ).
Project Background: Increasingly our water supply is being contaminated with pollutants from industry, waste discard and agriculture that is difficult to detect and difficult to remove. Despite attempts at community purification contaminants slip through. Three classes of agents: 1. Small size plastic fragments and particles – plastic micro and nanoparticles, 2. Heavy metals - lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury and 3. Inorganics – Nitrates/nitrites and phosphates are becoming prevalent in the environment, creeping into our water supply and finding their way into ingestible water, liquids and foods. These materials present long-term hazards, not only to the individual but to society and to all higher animal life. The particular invidious nature of these materials is their long-term durability and persistence – in both water, the environment, and in the body, once ingested. These agents have been shown to induce a range of health consequences including: elevation of cholesterol levels, liver and kidney abnormalities, altered thyroid function, as well as effects on reproductive health and certain malignancy risks. This project aims at developing a simple, portable, pocket/point-of care system system, that may be dispersed in the community – at home and in regional labs to assess potable water quality. Developing a system of harmful agent monitoring will allow a present and future look as to the state of contamination and will lend itself to corrective actions. Also, data supplied may amassed to develop large amounts of data for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence approaches to this environmental and health problem for a safer future.
Requirements: 1. Jump – in Review and define microplastics, heavy metals and inorganics – what are they, what end-organ biological damage can each induce, and what is their environmental prevalence and distribution in Arizona and around the U.S.? 2. Detection methods - For each contaminant group define the range of methods that may be utilized to detect each, their sensitivity ease-of-use and cost-effectiveness. 3. Preferred Build: Design a small footprint device (size of textbook max, more like a tablet, cell phone or voltmeter) with cassettes that integrate with a Smartphone and connects to a display/graphical user interface and the cloud. 4. Test strips/Cassettes (for the device- FOCUS ON PAPER MICROFLUIDIC, or CHANNEL MICROFLUIDICs as preferred DETECTION METHODS. Goal of detection: 1 order of magnitude < to 2 orders of magnitude > MCL (maximum contaminant level) for each contaminant, e.g. 0.5 to 0.005 mg/ml for Cadmium 5. SMARTPHONE USE - for readout and data collection of strips/cassette, processing and streaming to cloud and an AI TOOL. 6. Microplastics -in particular Device will detect and size - Team can benefit from work of prior Sr Design team (2024 and 2025 BOTH award winning) - use optics, small laser or electrostatic means for particle detection. 7. Report – Alignment/Integration with environmental standards – device/system will develop a standard form readout and report that in accordance with evolving health agency/public health reporting standards, e.g. AZ).