Portable turbidimetric device for in-time monitoring of bacterial contamination in drinking water
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Journal of Water Process Engineering |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214714425009043 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107832 |
| Keywords | Water contamination; Microbial detection; Continuous monitoring; Flow system; Optical sensor |
| Description | Microbial contamination of drinking water can affect public health with acute effects even after short-term consumption. The delays and limitations of current methods of drinking water quality control hinder rapid responses to unforeseen contamination incidents. Therefore, we designed and developed a compact and cost-effective device that can be integrated into the continuous processes of water treatment plants for indicative monitoring and in-time detection of bacterial contamination. The flow-through analyzer operates by real-time culturing bacteria and measuring turbidity, allowing the analysis of bacterial contamination with high sensitivity – detection of a single cell per 100 mL in a temperature-controlled environment was successfully demonstrated. Practical verification of the method efficacy was conducted using water samples obtained from a local water treatment facility. Furthermore, the analyzer was tested to assess the potential for enhancing selectivity by increasing the operating temperature from 37 °C to 44 °C. This allows more selective detection of E. coli, a model organism of fecal contamination, in contrast to other bacterial strains typically present at low concentrations in drinking water. |
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