Dielectric Properties of Water Samples Containing Metal and Chemical/Biochemical Contaminants

IDroplet microfluidic technology enables the production of nanoliter-sized water droplets that can be produced at kHz frequencies. As a result, this technology offers tremendous potential for producing a significant amount of data, which can be used for training and testing “smart” sensors; therefore, droplet microfluidics will be used in tandem with the microwave resonator to measure water samples with different dielectric/electrical properties. The measured data can then be used to understand the accuracy and limit of detection of the sensor for different water contaminants.

The overall objective of the project is to develop and deploy “smart” sensor networks for measuring metal and chemical/biochemical contaminants in water. A microfluidic device, with an integrated microwave resonator, will be used as the sensing technology for this project. Microfluidic devices are portable instruments that have the ability to handle small volumes of fluid, while microwave resonators can differentiate these fluids according to their permittivity and conductivity. As a result, such a device can be deployed for field testing and can be controlled remotely. Furthermore, the label-free nature of this sensor minimizes the sample preparation and user-involvement required for operation. This project will consist of the following four steps for device development: 1) understanding the fundamentals of portable microwave resonators, 2) optimizing the design of the microwave resonator for maximum sensitivity and accuracy, 3) training and testing the microwave resonator with different water samples using droplet microfluidic technology, and 4) designing a device that can be scaled-up and portable. The sensor for this project is developed under the project “Transformative technologies for Canadian water futures: big data platform and smart watersheds”. This project is under the Global Water Futures Program funded by Canada First Research Excellence Fund.

Ren, C., & Courtney, M. (2019). Dielectric Properties of Water Samples Containing Metal and Chemical/Biochemical Contaminants. Waterloo, Canada: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN). (Unpublished Data).

University of Waterloo Microfluidics Lab

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