Advanced Field-Deployable Monitor of Multiple Pesticides in Water

Pesticides are among the most widely used toxic chemicals in the world, and are demonstrably dangerous to human health. Their effects can be especially widespread when pesticides enter into drinking water. There are growing demands for field-deployable devices for reliable on-site monitoring of trace pesticides in water at low ppb levels of these compounds. In proposed Phase I program, Giner, Inc. will continue advanced development of a field deployable, handheld device to perform rapid on-site screening and quantitative determination of dissolved pesticide compounds in surface and ground water. The ultimate goal is to develop and commercialize a miniaturized low-cost, real-time and easy-to-use high performance handheld device for pesticide detection in the field. The Phase I advanced development will continue to improve the signal and decrease the noise by optimizing the sensing electrode configuration which will lower the detection level to low parts per billion. Extensive selectivity and interference studies in natural water will be performed to demonstrate the technology's value in preparation for Phase II. Successful development of the compact pesticide analyzer would open the door to portable water analysis which will lead increased safety of drinking water worldwide and assure that the chemical contents of the water environment falls within acceptable limits for drinking water.