DEVELOPMENT OF A SELECTIVE SENSOR FOR ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS IN GROUNDWATER USING A MOLECULAR IMPRINTING TECHNIQUE

THE WIDESPREAD PRESENCE OF CHLORINATED AND NONCHLORINATED ORGANICS IN GROUNDWATER AT MANY GOVERNMENT INSTALLATIONS POSES A SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH PROBLEM, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION BEING DRAWN TO TRICHLORETHYLENE (TCE) AS A COMMON CARCINOGENIC CONTAMINANT. MONITORING OF THE TCE CONTAMINANT LEVEL IN GROUNDWATER TYPICALLY REQUIRES THE COLLECTION OF SAMPLES AT THE SITE, TRANSPORTATION OF THE SAMPLES TO AN ANALYTIC LABORATORY, AND ANALYSIS IN THE LABORATORY. SUCH A PROCEDURE IS LABOR INTENSIVE, EXPENSIVE, AND TIME CONSUMING. IN ADDITION, THE ANALYSIS GIVES ONLY ONE CONCENTRATION DATA POINT IN TIME AND SPACE, WITH THE CHANCE THAT THE REMOVAL AND TRANSPORTATION OF THE SAMPLE MAY HAVE ALTERED ITS CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. IN PHASE I, A TCE-SELECTIVE FILM IS BEING PREPARED AND APPLIED TO A SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVE (SAW) DEVICE TO DETECT AND QUANTIFY THE TCE CONCENTRATIONS IN GROUNDWATER. A TCE-SELECTIVE SAW MICROSENSOR PROVIDES A HIGHLY SENSITIVE, LOW COST, ON-LINE, AND REAL-TIME MEANS FOR MONITORING TCE IN GROUNDWATER.