I-Corps: A fluorescence sensor for early detection of nitrification in drinking water

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种荧光传感器系统，用于早期检测水中的生物氨氧化。生物氨氧化会降低饮用水质量，在没有纠正措施的情况下，会导致细菌的生长，从而可能使消费者中毒。 生物氨氧化目前通过在饮用水分配系统内的几个位置采集抓取样品后分析多种化学物质来诊断，这是一个耗时且劳动密集型的过程。 所提出的荧光传感器系统将通过检测在饮用水质量降解之前由细菌释放的产物来自动化该过程。 使用这种提出的传感器系统可以促进生物氨氧化的早期检测，允许及时地应用校正措施以在水龙头处保持高质量的饮用水。 其他潜在的应用包括医院和医疗设施，用于去除饮用水消毒剂用于肾透析和其他治疗用途，以及饮料制造商，由于味道和气味问题而去除消毒剂。 这个I-Corps项目的基础是开发一种荧光传感器系统，用于早期检测水中的生物氨氧化。 研究表明，用实验室级台式荧光计测量的特定波长对的荧光强度揭示了在生物氨氧化之前细菌释放到水中的可溶性微生物产物的存在。 然而，为了在实践中有用，这些荧光测量需要在饮用水分配系统内的多个位置处实时进行，而不是在实验室中进行样品收集。 所提出的传感器系统将允许连续的实时荧光测量，并且由产生激发光的灯、产生适当波长的光的滤光器和收集荧光光谱的发射检测器组成。 伴随的数据处理算法和图形用户界面用于将荧光信号与其中不发生生物氨氧化的所建立的阈值水平进行比较。 从饮用水中去除消毒剂的医院和饮料制造商也可以将该传感器用于其他应用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a fluorescence sensor system for early detection of biological ammonia oxidation in water. Biological ammonia oxidation can degrade drinking water quality and, in the absence of corrective actions, lead to growth of bacteria that may sicken consumers. Biological ammonia oxidation is presently diagnosed by analysis of multiple chemical species following grab sample collection at several locations within a drinking water distribution system, which is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. The proposed fluorescence sensor system would automate this process by detecting products released by bacteria prior to the degradation of drinking water quality. Use of this proposed sensor system may facilitate early detection of biological ammonia oxidation, allowing for corrective actions to be applied in a timely manner to maintain high quality drinking water at the tap. Other potential applications include hospitals and medical facilities that remove drinking water disinfectants for kidney dialysis and other therapeutic uses, and beverage manufacturers that remove disinfectants due to taste and odor concerns. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a fluorescence sensor system for early detection of biological ammonia oxidation in water. Research demonstrated that fluorescence intensities at specific wavelength pairs measured with a laboratory-grade benchtop fluorometer revealed the presence of soluble microbial products released by bacteria into water prior to biological ammonia oxidation. To be useful in practice, however, these fluorescence measurements need to be made in real-time at multiple locations within a drinking water distribution system as opposed to in a laboratory following sample collection. The proposed sensor system would allow for continuous real-time fluorescence measurements and consists of a lamp to generate excitation light, optical filters to generate the appropriate wavelengths of light, and an emission detector to collect the fluorescence spectra. A companion data-processing algorithm and graphical user interface is used to make comparisons of fluorescence signals to an established threshold level in which biological ammonia oxidation is not occurring. Hospitals and beverage manufacturers that remove disinfectants from drinking water also may leverage this sensor for other applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.