Guwahati, Sep 1: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati have developed a nanosensor that can detect cancer-causing mercury and harmful antibiotic residues in water in less than 10 seconds.
The low-cost sensor, created from milk protein and thymine (a DNA building block), works by using carbon dots that glow under ultraviolet light. When pollutants like mercury or tetracycline antibiotics are present, the glow fades, instantly signaling contamination.
The research team, led by Prof. Lal Mohan Kundu from the Department of Chemistry, along with scholars Pallabi Paul and Anushka Chakraborty, has successfully tested the sensor in tap water, river water, milk, urine, and serum samples. To make it practical for on-the-spot testing, the nanosensor has also been coated on paper strips that work with a simple UV lamp.
“Mercury is highly carcinogenic, and excess antibiotics can cause antibiotic resistance and other health issues. Our sensor can detect them at very low concentrations within seconds,” said Prof. Kundu.
On lab trials, the nanosensor was able to detect mercury at 1.7 parts per billion, which is more sensitive than the standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The breakthrough research has been published in the international journal Microchimica Acta. While the technology is still at the laboratory stage, researchers believe it could lead to affordable water-testing kits and even biomedical applications in the future.
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