Project number
25040
Organization
Kidney ADVANCE Project - NIH/ACABI
Offering
ENGR498-F2024-S2025
Project Goal/Summary: The purpose of this project to develop a functional, small footprint/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. “water baddies,” in water or other similar ingestible fluids; This system will reduce personal and group water risk, while serving as tool for environmental monitoring and protection. Clean Water for a Safe Future!
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. 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 both 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 expensive system, that may be dispersed in the community – at home and in regional labs. 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 and ease-of-use. 3. Preferred Build: Design a small footprint device 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 MICROFLUIDIC DETECTION. 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 collect, detect and size - Team can benefit from work of a prior Sr Design team - use optics, small laser or electrostatic means for particle detection. 7. Homogenization with environmental standards – device/system will develop a standard form readout and report that will be in accordance with evolving EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) or other standards agencies.
Friday afternoon mentoring sessions (for all Kidney/ACABI teams) on a rotating pre-scheduled basis will be in place to provide adequate guidance.
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. 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 both 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 expensive system, that may be dispersed in the community – at home and in regional labs. 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 and ease-of-use. 3. Preferred Build: Design a small footprint device 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 MICROFLUIDIC DETECTION. 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 collect, detect and size - Team can benefit from work of a prior Sr Design team - use optics, small laser or electrostatic means for particle detection. 7. Homogenization with environmental standards – device/system will develop a standard form readout and report that will be in accordance with evolving EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) or other standards agencies.
Friday afternoon mentoring sessions (for all Kidney/ACABI teams) on a rotating pre-scheduled basis will be in place to provide adequate guidance.