A Simple Method to Detect Water Impurities

Current Water Testing is Inefficient Collect Sample remote locations thousands of miles of water pipelines and in/output sites Ship to laboratory Results in ~2 weeks

Optical “Dipstick” Water Test

Panels of Chitosan Thin Films Chitin to Chitosan gentle acids Chitosan naturally binds… lead, chromium (VI and III), mercury, copper and uranium small organic compounds Also conjugate epitopes within thin films to detect bacteria and viruses

Optical “Dipstick” Water Test Changes color… at a threshold quantitatively

Water Testing Market Applications Municipal field agents Federal agencies Uranium detection Personal users tapwater bottled water Tapwater – britain w/ water-sewage lines Bottled water – NYT article, not as pure as we think

Intellectual Property Unpublished PCT Composition of thin films Method of using “dipstick” test

Benefits Simple, portable device A visual yes/no answer within 5 minutes Detection of lead, chromium (VI and III), mercury, copper, uranium, small organic compounds and in the future epitopes of bacteria and viruses. Threshold- or quantitatively-based test All natural materials

Next steps Test in real-world situations Scale-up How do sticks/leaves/oils affect this system? Scale-up We are looking for corporate partners

Contact Information Philip E. Caldwell, Ph.D. Associate Director Drexel University Office of Technology Commercialization 3225 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 Phone: 215.895.0999 Fax: 215.895.0310 Email: pcaldwell@drexel.edu Booth 639