Lipid Enhanced Nano Sensors LENS for lead and mercury detection in water

Abstract This Phase I application aims to determine the feasibility of using lipid enhanced nanosensor LENS arrays for smart phone based detection of lead Pb and mercury Hg in drinking water at concentrations above FDA allowable levels LENS arrays are composed of fluid lipid multilayer diffraction gratings on surfaces The fluid nature of these arrays has two advantages reagents can be included within the grating volume and changes in the grating nanostructure upon analyte binding results in an optical readout signal Three aims must be achieved before proceeding with a Phase II project First the sensors must be adapted for selective detection of lead and mercury in a laboratory setting This will be done by functionalizing the sensor elements with nucleotide sequences known to bind lead and mercury ions The sensitivity and selectivity of the individual sensor elements will be determined These elements will then be integrated into arrays composed of different lipid formulations using nanointaglio printing and selectivity for the analytes at concentrations above FDA allowable levels will be obtained by using an optical nose approach In order to achieve portability and affordability a smart phone attachment will be developed that makes use of the light source camera for detection The attachment will require a sample volume of one drop i e less than microliters Finally the LENS arrays will be tested on real world water samples spiked with the ions of interest Our ultimate goal is to produce an affordable general purpose smart phone attachment and specific cartridges for detection of analytes of interest to the consumer Successful achievement of the aims of this proposal will demonstrate the technical feasibility of using LENS arrays for detection of lead and mercury in drinking water As the LENS array technology is potentially scalable there is potential for multiplexed detection of thousands of analytes from a single drop PROJECT NARRATIVE Lead and copper and mercury are very common in the environment and the public are exposed to these trace toxic metals through different routes The lead contamination in Flint drinking water is a tragic example that public health especially children health were severally impacted by our old infrastructure which contains these toxic metals Millions of people in the US are still live in the places with these contaminants and crisis like Flint water crisis could occur in other places of the US An unmet need exists for technologies for personal exposure assessments at the point of contact Current testing for metal ions is mostly performed in formal reference laboratories Commercially available home based water filter systems do not measure metal ions at an affordable price We will develop a sensor for direct detection of two metal ions mercury Hg and lead Pb in drinking water using lipid enhanced nanosensor LENS arrays for smart phone based detection