Onsite arsenic detection with a low cost portable microvolume kit

Abstract

Arsenic, a harmful contaminant, has a WHO limit of 10 μg/L in drinking water. This work is aimed to develop an on-site detection method for arsenic in micro-volume samples, achieving rapid detection at ~8 μg/L in potable water. The Molybdenum Blue method has been modified to provide rapid and exact total arsenic readings in aqueous samples with concentrations below 10 g/L. Optimizing reagents allowed micro-volume detection, tolerating up to 200 ppb of phosphate interference. The reaction produces a unique blue colour, indicating the formation of a complex called arsenomolybdate, which confirms the presence of arsenic in the sample. The colour intensity exhibited variations corresponding to arsenic concentration, providing a visual indicator of its presence. An easiest qualitative based sensor has been created utilizing porous materials to assess the concentration range of arsenic in the sample by using Low Cost Portable Microvolume (P-μV) Kit. The device exhibited an impressive response time of approximately 1 min for checking arsenic concentrations in samples, with a limit of detection (LOD) at 8 μg/L. Furthermore, the device yielded satisfactory results when checking to field samples. Its versatility allowed for both qualitative assessments and alignment with atomic absorption spectrometry results.