Synthesis of Human Urine into Carbon Dots for Implementation as a Visual Arsenic Assay in Water

Overview

Arsenic contamination of drinking water poses an acute threat to human health, which is especially compounded in regions with limited resources. Though it is detectable, conventional tests for arsenic are expensive and time consuming, rendering them useless in underdeveloped regions. A method for visual representation of arsenic presence ameliorates the issue of delay by providing immediate results, and an inexpensive test would eliminate economic obstacles. Such a combination would enable regions in all stages of development to readily and cost effectively test for arsenic and allow water consumption directly after sampling. Quantum dots are nanomaterials with fluorescent abilities that make them useful as probes for heavy metals, but they are toxic or harmful to the environment and comparatively expensive. However, the dots can also be synthesised from carbon, creating less economically and environmentally straining nanomaterials. Urea, found in human urine, can be utilized as a base for these carbon dots, offering an easily accessible, nontoxic quantum material and ameliorating health and environmental concerns of excess runoff of unsterilized human urine. This research synthesized carbon dots from human urine through microwave irradiation and tested fluorescenc e quenching of these dots in the presence of arsenic. The method created could be easily replicated by anyone with access to a microwave and possibly just a heat source. Significant results (p-value<.05) found in this research support the effective use of microwave-synthesized, sulphur-doped carbon dots as a visual indicator of arsenic presence in water. These findings offer a viable solution to identifying safe drinking sources throughout all levels of global development.

Awards (1)

• 1st Place Chemistry

Competition history

• JSHS 2020 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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