Electrochemical detection of arsenic via a microfluidic sensor and mobile interface towards affordable, rapid, and point-of-use water monitoring

Arsenic contamination of groundwater presents a major obstacle to the development of water infrastructure in developing countries, with severe long-term health consequences. Current solutions for arsenic testing range from simple colorimetric assays to sophisticated laboratory tests. Colorimetric kits are simple and low-cost, yet these types of tests generally suffer from a lack of precision and use toxic chemicals as test reagents while laboratory-based techniques, such as mass spectrometry, are accurate but considerably more expensive, requiring off-site analysis of samples. Electrochemical detection in a microfluidic platform offers many advantages, such as portability, minimal use of instrumentation, and ready integration with electronics. Toward a solution to water quality interventions, we have demonstrated an electrochemical sensor combined with mobile interface that detects arsenic suitable for rapid, affordable, and point-of-care water monitoring. Using this platform, we successfully demonstrate the detection of arsenic and the automatic interpretation and mapping of the detection results via a mobile application. We expect such a platform for diagnostics via mobile phone with automated test interpretation and mapping to provide an indispensable tool, especially in rural areas where the needs are the greatest, but the lack of laboratory facilities and trained personnel is a real obstacle.