0529140 Baldwin The goal of this project is to build and test a prototype lab-on-a-chip (LOC) electrochemical (EC) sensor for heavy metals to be used in monitoring drinking water. The proposed LOC will be designed to be a robust, portable, stand-alone sensing system for use by municipal water companies to identify and quantify low levels of the heavy metals Pb, Cu, Hg, Ni, and Zn. Such robust, small, sensitive and inexpensive sensors are needed for sensor array applications. The LOC will be coupled with a transportable, battery-powered electronics package suitable for on-site or remote applications that the PIs developed previously. The project involves several innovative components, such as the use of different flow paths for pre-concentration and sensing, use of gold-electrodes, a 3-D flow-through pre-concentrating electrode, and multiple planar sensing electrodes. Educational aspects of the project include involvement of high school students and teachers and integration of information from the study into high school curricula.
