Updated on January 24, 2024

·

Created on September 13, 2019

NTU Singapore Water Test

The NTU Singapore Water Test is a portable device designed to detect trace levels of heavy metals in drinking water in approximately five minutes.

Tested By
  • Feng Chia University
  • Nanjing University
  • Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore
Content Partners
Unknown

Author

Product Description

The NTU Singapore Water Test is a portable device designed to detect trace levels of heavy metals in drinking water in just five minutes. The device uses an optical fiber sensor modified with a chelating agent which binds to metal ions. A laser shines through, and the resulting shift in the output light spectrum sensor is read by a processing unit that displays the results of the water quality test. This product is still in prototyping phase.

Target SDGs

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Household

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Unknown

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include ANDalyze AND1100 Fluorimeter.

Manufacturing/Building Method

This product is currently in the prototyping phase and not yet manufactured at scale.

Intellectural Property Type

Patent

User Provision Model

The designers have not yet selected their user provision model.

Distributions to Date Status

None

Test types included

Up to 24 types of metal contaminants, including Ca2+, Cs2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, and Cd2+, Pb2+.

Equipment included

Handheld device, disposable sensor cartridge

Tests per kit

Unknown

Detection range

Lead: =<5 ppb

Processing time for one sample (hr)

5 minutes

Additional materials required

Disposable sensor cartridge

Power required (yes/no)

No

Complete kit weight (kg)

0.8 kg

Design Specifications

The device sensing region uses L-glutathione (GSH), a chelating agent which functions to specifically bind Pb2+ onto the optical fiber sensor for on-site detection of heavy metal ions. The detection time is less than five minutes, and can detect up to 24 metal contaminants. The device has an overall dimension of 203 mm × 149.50 mm × 65 mm and weighs 0.8 kg.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

Provided by the manufacturer

Replacement Components

Disposable sensor cartridges

Lifecycle

Unknown

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

The designers aim to have heavy metal tests completed in under five minutes, have the tests perform in temperatures up to 40°C, and have a detection limit of 5 ppb.

Vetted Performance Status

The device demonstrated a measured detection limit of 5 ?g/L and good selectivity toward Pb2+ even with the presence of other metal ions.

Safety

Unknown

Complementary Technical Systems

Battery charging and disposable sensor cartridges

Academic Research and References

Yap, S.H.K., et al., 2018, An Advanced Hand-Held Microfiber-Based Sensor for Ultrasensitive Lead Ion Detection. ACS Sensors, 3, pp. 2506-2512.

“NTU Singapore scientists invent handheld device for quick monitoring of drinking water quality,” Corporate NTU, 15-Apr-2019. Available: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/news/detail/ntu-singapore-scientists-invent-handheld-device-for-quick-monitoring-of-drinking-water-quality

“NTU Singapore scientists invent handheld device for quick monitoring of drinking water quality,” Edu.sg. Available: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/docs/default-source/corporate-ntu/media-hub/0370-ntu-singapore-scientists-invent-handheld-device-for-quick-monitoring-of-drinking-water-quality/media-release—ntu-singapore-scientists-invent-handheld-device-for-quick-monitoring-of-drinking-water-quality.pdf?sfvrsn=9e81a91c_2 

“Device for quick monitoring of drinking water quality”, Edu.sg. Available: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/docs/default-source/corporate-ntu/media-hub/0370-ntu-singapore-scientists-invent-handheld-device-for-quick-monitoring-of-drinking-water-quality/lhwb_190415_5_portable-water-sensor-detects-heavy-metal-contaminants-in-five-minutes.pdf?sfvrsn=1a3e5655_2 

“Device for quick monitoring of drinking water quality”, Edu.sg. Available: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/docs/default-source/corporate-ntu/media-hub/0370-ntu-singapore-scientists-invent-handheld-device-for-quick-monitoring-of-drinking-water-quality/smdn_190415_4_ntu-invention-detects-heavy-metal-contaminants-in-water-in-five-min.pdf?sfvrsn=77ee9aa9_2 

“Device for quick monitoring of drinking water quality”, Edu.sg. Available: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/docs/default-source/corporate-ntu/media-hub/0370-ntu-singapore-scientists-invent-handheld-device-for-quick-monitoring-of-drinking-water-quality/lhzb_190416_3_ntu-device-can-quickly-detect-heavy-metals-in-water.pdf?sfvrsn=ce8863f2_2

Compliance with regulations

The level of sensitivity falls within standards of the World Health Organization and of the Environmental Public Health Act in Singapore.

Evaluation methods

The device was evaluated against ICP-MS screened results and known water samples for heavy metal contaminant sensitivity readings including including for Ca2+, Cs2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, and Cd2+, Pb2+.

Other Information

None

Comments from the Community

1 Comment

  1. watsanenvirotech says:

    We need to test all parameters pertaining to IS10500 standards, need collaboration and mfg license to make in India

Leave a Reply

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