Project Lead(s): Brendan MacDonald
Issue
The arsenic crisis in Bangladesh is considered by the World Health Organization to be the largest mass poisoning of a population in human history.
Despite relentless efforts and hundreds of millions of dollars being spent to address the issue, 77 million people remain at risk of arsenic poisoning and one in five deaths in Bangladesh occur due to arsenic poisoning.
Solution
The project aimed to develop an affordable and simple, paper-based device capable of detecting arsenic levels in drinking water from tube wells in Bangladesh.
The test could be provided directly to the people who consume the water, to empower them with accurate knowledge about the quality of their drinking water and prevent unsafe levels of arsenic consumption.
An initial trip was undertaken to Bangladesh to visit affected villages and experts, and to gather feedback to inform the design of the test.
Work was then undertaken to develop the device in the laboratory. This included paper-based flow characterization, chemical production of the nanoparticles, incorporating the test into a paper-based platform and verifying the test results with known levels of arsenic-contaminated samples.
Following the test development, the team visited Bangladesh to collect water samples for field testing and to discuss the test with some impacted well users.
Outcome
The team successfully verified the paper-based test, found agreement with laboratory arsenic testing for actual groundwater samples from three regions in Bangladesh and were working towards the final refinement of the test.
The test strip displays a clear and consistent colour change when exposed to a level of 10 ppb arsenic concentration in groundwater samples.
The team will work towards refining the prototype test to make it robust enough for widespread use and commercialization. The main focus of this activity involves increasing the shelf life of the test and additional packaging (plastic sheath) required to ensure the tests are durable.
The work documenting agreement between test results from groundwater samples collected in Bangladesh and laboratory arsenic testing has been submitted for publication.
The team will consider applying for Transition To Scale (TTS) funding if they can find a committed partner to lead commercialization efforts in Bangladesh.