1. A Simple Method to Detect Water Impurities

2. 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

3. Optical “Dipstick” Water Test

4. 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

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

6. 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

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Unpublished PCT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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Contact Information
Philip E. Caldwell, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Drexel University
Office of Technology Commercialization
3225 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone:
Fax:
Booth 639