Rapid and On-site Monitoring of Urinary Arsenic Metabolites

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Giner, Inc. proposes a portable, inexpensive, and rapid-response monitor for arsenic speciation in urine. Arsenic species excreted in urine are reflective of human exposure to toxic arsenic, and therefore this sensor will be a valuable biomonitoring tool in medical diagnostics and epidemiological studies by allowing determination of arsenic exposure faster and less expensive than traditional methods. Improved capability of monitoring exposure will have positive public health outcomes, as chronic exposure to arsenic is associated with health problems including cancer and cardiovascular disease. The Phase I program will develop a monitor prototype capable of direct electrochemical detection of arsenic (III) in urine with anadvanced electrode substrate. Quantification of other important arsenic species and metabolites (arsenic [V] and mono- and dimethyl arsinate) will be performed by sequential and rapid conversion to arsenic (III) via chemical and electrochemical methods toobtain the total amount of toxic arsenic in urine. The phase I program feasibility studies will include validation of the alpha prototype with real urine samples from epidemiological studies. The phase II program will result in a practical, robust, and highly accurate device capable of on-site analysis. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: A portable, inexpensive, and rapid-response monitor for speciation analysis of inorganic arsenic and arsenic metabolites species in urine is proposed. Traditional methods of assessing arsenic exposure are time-intensive and cost-prohibitive, and therefore such low cost onsite monitor will have positive public health outcomes by improving ability to monitor arsenic exposure in at-risk populations.