Express test for rapid detection of water pollution in places of bathing
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Closure of urban beaches due to outbreaks of bacterial growth has already become a normal phenomenon for the summer, because until now the water testing technique has not been either fast enough to catch the changes in the criterion nor easily accessible so that it is possible to inspect all the water bodies.
Researchers from the McMaster Institute have created a method for rapid examination: a simple cardboard strip is able from the first minute to detect the presence of E. Coli microbes in the test water sample. A new tool can become a bridge between the outbreak of microbial development and their detection, thereby increasing the level of human safety.
Scientists from the Seniter Bioactive Paper Network have created and tested the viability of a test strip that can detect potentially harmful concentrations of E.coli in water instantly and simply, with much greater accuracy than today's mobile technologies.
"The E. Coli family has always been a big problem," says John Vennan, a chemistry teacher at the McMaster Institute, the head of the Canadian Experimental Department of Bioanalytical Chemistry. "Technologies that were used to determine bacterial growth outbreaks are slow and generally not mobile, as they are preceded by cultivation in the laboratory, which increases the time between flash and closure of the beach."
Bioactive paper is both a novelty and a long-known method, Brennan explains. Since the late 1950s, doctors have been using bioactive paper to determine the level of glucose in the urine. In recent years, the scope of application has increased greatly and experts are developing new methods, as a result of this research has become competitive.
The new strips contain chemicals that react to bacteria. These chemicals are sprayed, similar to the one found in printers. 30 minutes after the start of testing, the paper changes color, confirming the presence of E. Coli. Different colors correspond to different concentrations and types of microbes
[