Field-ready and rapid trace-level detection and speciation of arsenic in water

描述（由申请人提供）：饮用水中的砷已被证明是致癌的原因，并继续在美国和全球范围内对人类和环境构成重大威胁。在49个州的饮用水中发现了砷，并在许多超级基金所在地构成了主要污染物。这种无所不在的情况需要足够的监测设备，不仅要快速，而且要将实验室级设备的灵敏度和性能与测试试剂盒的易用性和移动性相结合。OndaVia开发了一种使用表面增强拉曼光谱（SERS）检测水中痕量化学物质的分析平台。该平台成功地展示了可靠的检测痕量高氯酸盐在加州净化现场。OndaVia建议将其廉价、可现场部署和强大的解决方案用于超灵敏和快速的砷监测。这种新颖的创新，能够在水中的ppb（十亿分之一）水平进行物种形成和定量砷测量，将有助于减少砷暴露并促进预防砷引起的疾病。它将极大地加强早期检测，帮助场地优先排序和净化

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Arsenic in drinking water is a proven cause of cancer, and continues to pose a significant human and environmental threat in the U.S and globally. Arsenic has been found in drinking water in forty-nine States and constitutes a major pollutant in many Superfund sites. This omnipresence requires adequate monitoring equipment that is not only fast, but also combines the sensitivity and performance of laboratory-grade equipment with the ease-of-use and mobility of test kits. OndaVia has developed an analytical platform using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) for trace chemical detection in water. This platform successfully demonstrated reliable detection of trace- levels of perchlorate at a California decontamination site. OndaVia proposes to adapt its inexpensive, field-deployable and robust solution for ultra-sensitive and rapid arsenic monitoring. This novel innovation, capable of speciation and quantitative arsenic measurement at ppb (parts per billion) levels in water, will help reduce arsenic exposure and advance the prevention for arsenic-induced illnesses. It will critically enhance early detection, help site-prioritization and decontamination efforts, improve testing capabilities of small- and medium-sized water systems, and assist policy makers fill gaps in water regulation. OndaVia's technology relies on an inexpensive microfluidic chip that embeds gold nanoparticles to form a robust, reliable and effective plasmonic enhancement substrate within a microchannel. In SERS, enhancements are obtained when the analytes interact or adhere to the surface of the plasmonic metal. To obtain single-digit ppb detection of arsenic, OndaVia proposes to embed a new generation of gold- nanoparticles specifically designed for arsenic detection. Funding will be used to synthesize, characterize, and optimize the innovative nanoparticles, build and calibrate the new substrate using lab-standards, and finally quantify and speciate arsenic in real-world water samples.