Rapid detection of arsenic in water

 描述（由申请人提供）：砷天然存在于世界各地的地下水中，长期以来一直是一个环境问题，因为它对大范围的生物体具有毒性，即使在十亿分之一（ppb）的水平上也是如此。2007年皇家地理学会砷会议上提出的一项研究报告说，70多个国家的1.37亿多人因饮用水砷中毒。大量的肝癌、肺癌和肾癌病例以及皮肤病，如角化过度和色素脱失，都与砷摄入有关。砷是仅次于铅的第二大无机污染物，在最初的国家优先名单（NPL）的超级基金网站。它也是《资源保护和回收法》（RCRA）规定的有毒物质之一。因此，需要在超级基金场地、RCRA垃圾填埋场、处理含砷废物的设施和场地进行砷监测。美国环保署在2001年估计，美国约有1300万人，主要是在西部各州，暴露于饮用水中超过10 ppb水平的砷。根据EPA报告（EPA 815-R-02-003），美国大约有54，000个社区供水系统，为大约2.54亿人提供服务，其中地下水被用作饮用水供应来源。这些地区的处理厂过程控制系统需要升级，以监测远远低于10 ppb的砷含量，以达到新的标准，保护公民免受不安全饮用水的影响。这个问题在发展中国家更为严重。例如，在孟加拉国，90%的公民（1.3亿）使用浅管井的饮用水，据报道，每年有20万至27万人因长期摄入砷污染的水而死亡。然而，目前还没有一种可靠、定量和易于使用的传感器来测定饮用水中的砷，特别是在低ppb水平下。传统的砷测定方法，如ICP-MS和ICP-AES，是劳动密集型的，耗时和昂贵的，而比色测试是不定量的。目前可用的大多数比色测试试剂盒使用含汞的剧毒化学品，并且在测试期间还产生剧毒气体砷化氢。为了满足这一需求，Lynntech提出开发一种基于一次性微型盒的试剂盒，不含任何有毒金属，如汞或铅，可以使用简单的电池操作比色计快速定量水中的砷。该系统将仅要求用户将等分试样的水样品通过一次性盒，并使用低成本手持式色度计获取阅读。其他优点包括：在宽范围（1-200 ppb）内检测砷的两种氧化态（III和V），易于处理、储存和运输，保存期长，盒和相关读取器的成本低和可制造性。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Arsenic is found naturally in ground water throughout various parts of the world and has long been an environmental concern because of its toxicity to a large spectrum of organisms, even at the parts-per-billion (ppb) level. A study presented in the Royal Geographic Society Arsenic Conference in 2007 reported that over 137 million people in more than 70 countries are affected by arsenic poisoning from drinking water. A large number of liver, lung, and kidney cancer cases as well as dermal conditions, such as hyperkeratosis and depigmentation, are connected to arsenic ingestion. Arsenic is second only to lead as the main inorganic contaminant in the original National Priority List (NPL) of Superfund sites. It is also one of the toxic materials regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Therefore, the need exists for arsenic monitoring at Superfund sites, RCRA landfills, facilities handling arsenic-containing wastes, and sites. The US EPA estimated in 2001 that some 13 million people in the USA, mostly in the Western states, are exposed to arsenic in drinking water at >10 ppb level. According to an EPA report (EPA 815-R-02-003), there are approximately 54,000 community water systems, serving about 254 million people where groundwater is used as the source of drinking water supply in the US. The treatment plant process control systems in those areas need to be upgraded to monitor the level of arsenic well below 10 ppb to meet the new standards to protect citizens from receiving unsafe drinking water. The problem is more severe in developing countries. For example, in Bangladesh where 90% of citizens (130 million) use drinking water from shallow tube-wells, 200,000-270,000 deaths per year have been reported because of long-term ingestion of arsenic contaminated water. However, a reliable, quantitative and easy to use sensor for the determination of arsenic in drinking water, especially at low ppb levels, is not currently available. Conventional methods for the determination of arsenic, such as ICP-MS and ICP-AES, are labor-intensive, time consuming and expensive, while colorimetric tests are not quantitative. Most of the currently available colorimetric test kits use highly toxic chemicals containing mercury and also produce highly toxic gas arsine during the test. To address this need, Lynntech proposes to develop a disposable micro-cartridge based kit without any toxic metals like mercury or lead that can rapidly quantify arsenic in water using a simple battery operated colorimeter. This system will only require the user to pass an aliquot of water sample through a disposable cartridge and take a reading using a low cost handheld colorimeter. Additional merits include: detection of both oxidation states (III and V) of arsenic over a wide range (1-200 ppb), ease of handling, storage and transportation, long shelf life, low cost and manufacturability of the cartridges and associated reader.