Newton Fund - Development and validation of low-cost field sensor and filtration technologies for real-time detection and removal of drinking water contaminants (As/F-)

Millennium Develop Goal 7c - to reduce by half the 4 billion people without sustainable access to safe drinking

water - has encouraged rapid growth in water quality testing. Despite this, exposure to high levels of arsenic &

fluoride through contaminated drinking water remains a global health problem, affecting an estimated 300m

people worldwide & over 6m people in Mexico. Chronic exposure to arsenic leads to numerous health issues,

including skin lesions & cancers, while long-term exposure to fluoride leads to bone and joint deformities and

dental problems. No cure exists for either; the only solution is to prevent excessive exposure through

affordable testing & filtration. In this project the teams will collaborate to develop novel test strip-based field

tests for both that will be rapid, easy-to-use & affordable, while also developing a novel fluoride filter to go

along with an arsenic filter developed previously. The teams will develop a smartphone app that will help to

map the problem & will develop prototypes of the low-cost electronic readers. The new sensors & lab-scale

filter with be validated in field trials in one of the worst affected regions of Mexico.