INST develops new kit to detect fluoride in drinking water

▴ INST develops new kit to detect fluoride in drinking water
Equipment-free, a simple paper-strip based naked-eye fluoride ion detection and quantification kit in drinking water to evade Fluorosis-based disorders

Fluorosis is a crippling disease resulting from the deposition of fluorides in the hard and soft tissues of the body due to excess intake of fluoride through drinking water/food products/industrial pollutants over a long period. It results in dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, and non-skeletal fluorosis. Easy detection of fluorides in water can help preventing the public health hazards.

Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, have developed an equipment-free fluoride ion detection and quantification in drinking water with the naked-eye. It can be operated by non-experts for household use to evade Fluorosis-based disorders.

The technology developed by Dr. Jayamurugan Govindasamy and his team involves a push-pull chromophore based on 2,3-disubstituted 1,1,4,4-tetracyano-1,3-butadienes (TCBDs) that changes color upon exposure to fluoride ion. The identified chromophore (C3-phenyl, C2-urea functionalized TCBD) is the result of a systematic study seeded by the Early Career Research (ECR) Award and further supported by the Ramanujan Fellowship grant of DST received by Dr. Govindasamy. The results were recently published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry. The researchers designed urea as an unusual donating moiety instead of traditional donor moieties, such as amines, to obtain better optoelectronic properties. The charge-transfer (CT) property that arises through-bond in aniline donor is usually quenched due to a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism. Whereas upon introducing urea as an electron donor, the CT exhibited both spaces as well as through bond due to “Field-effect”. Thus partial overcoming of the PET process, which led to white light emission.

Later, they extended its applicability in sensing of biologically relevant fluoride, as it is well known that fluoride can bind with urea via H-bonding interaction. Thus the combination of the push-pull chromophore with urea turned out to be an ideal system for the same. The INST scientists have optimized the synthesis of this chromophore in the laboratory scale

Furthermore, the design and synthesis can be slightly modulated to increase the sensitivity from 3 ppm to less than 1 ppm. Currently, the INST team is working in this direction. The major cost involves only the synthesis of the chromophore, making it affordable and accessible.

Although a vast number of reports are available for chromogenic and chromo-fluorogenic receptors in solution, only a limited number of reports which studied solid-phase detection. However, all those receptors suffer some drawbacks such as they generally exhibit color change only in organic medium and inorganic fluoride source, competing for affinity towards other anions such as acetate and phosphate, with a relatively high minimum detection limit of 10–30 ppm, work only with concentrated HCl, use of metals, delayed response, etc. while some works only with UV-lamp and chemically treated paper.

The non-planar push-pull chromophores sense fluoride ion with the naked eye in both solutions- as well as solid-phases.

The invention has been protected by filing the patent (202011028595). This work was supported by DST-SERB through the Early Career Research Award and Ramanujan Fellowship to Dr. JayamuruganGovindasamy.

Several companies sell solution-based photometric as well as colorimetric sensor kit, including few Indian companies. However, there is no single product based on low-cost paper-strip available to bring down the cost of the kit as well as easy handling by a layman.

Currently, one German company sells a paper-strip test kit for the detection of HF with a sensitivity of up to 20 ppm that too works only with hydrochloric acid (pH<1). This kit developed by INST can be used by a non-expert, with high sensitivity up to 3 ppm in aqueous/DMSO 1:1 condition and with only DMSO up to 1 ppm and free of dangerous chemicals and equipment.

Tags : #Fluorosis #DrinkingWater #DrJayamuruganGovindasamy #DST #INST #JournalofOrganicChemistry #GovtofIndia

About the Author


Team Medicircle

Related Stories

Loading Please wait...

-Advertisements-




Trending Now

Surviving Against the Odds: Steven Spinale's Journey After an Ingrown Hair Turns DeadlyMarch 29, 2024
10 reasons why media research and Planning are essential in Healthcare marketingMarch 29, 2024
The Surprising Link Between Sleep and Age Perception: What You Need to KnowMarch 29, 2024
The Dark Side of Beauty: Kidney Damage from Hair Straightening TreatmentsMarch 29, 2024
The Dark Side of Beauty: Kidney Damage from Hair Straightening TreatmentsMarch 29, 2024
Avance Clinical at World Vaccine Congress to Share Latest Vaccine Clinical Trial News Including an HIV-1 StudyMarch 29, 2024
Sexual wellness superstore, Love Depot launches digital campaign to deliver every desireMarch 28, 2024
Recharge Your Life: Simple Ways to Boost Your Physical and Mental EnergyMarch 28, 2024
The Neurological Toll of Common Household Chemicals: Insights from Recent ResearchMarch 28, 2024
The Aging Puzzle: Decoding the Mechanisms of AgingMarch 28, 2024
The Double-Edged Sword of Kala-azar Treatment: Shedding Light on Eye ComplicationsMarch 28, 2024
FTCCI Launches Industry-Academia Connect to improve the employability of Engineering Graduates and address the growing demand for Talent in Emerging TechMarch 27, 2024
NTT and Olympus Begin World's First Joint Demonstration Experiment of Cloud Endoscopy SystemMarch 27, 2024
NTT and Olympus Begin World's First Joint Demonstration Experiment of Cloud Endoscopy SystemMarch 27, 2024
2nd Edition of IIFL JITO Ahimsa Run for peace & for non-violence to be held on 31st MarchMarch 27, 2024
Brij Hotels Announced 4 Million in Series A Funding March 27, 2024
Combatting Childhood Sedentariness: The Key to Preventing Premature Vascular DamageMarch 27, 2024
Crucial Findings: Unlocking Paths to Combat Ebola's DevastationMarch 27, 2024
Guarding Against Disease: The Crucial Role of Oral Hygiene in Preventive HealthcareMarch 27, 2024
Sanofi & Cipla announce exclusive distribution partnership to expand reach of CNS portfolio in IndiaMarch 26, 2024