Paper-based microfluidic device coupled with foldscope for the detection of As3+ ions using gold nanoparticles.

Groundwater contaminated with arsenic poses several health risks to humans. It is necessary to monitor arsenic levels in water sources periodically. Microfluidics-based lab-on-a-chip systems are miniaturized, cost effective analytical tools that can be used to detect a variety of chemical and biological compounds. Herein, we report the development of a paper-based sensor using gold nanoparticles for the detection of arsenic levels as low as 5 ppb. The amount of colloidal solutions of gold nanoparticles required for analyzing a few microliters of samples is very low further reducing the costs. The limit of detection of arsenic was substantially extended in the study by capturing images after magnification via Foldscope, a pocket microscope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]