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Lab-on-Chip Measurement of Nitrate and Nitrite for In Situ Analysis of Natural Waters

Lab-on-Chip Measurement of Nitrate and Nitrite for In Situ Analysis of Natural Waters
Lab-on-Chip Measurement of Nitrate and Nitrite for In Situ Analysis of Natural Waters
Microfluidic technology permits the miniaturization of chemical analytical methods that are traditionally undertaken using benchtop equipment in the laboratory environment. When applied to environmental monitoring, these “lab-on-chip” systems could allow high-performance chemical analysis methods to be performed in situ over distributed sensor networks with large numbers of measurement nodes. Here we present the first of a new generation of microfluidic chemical analysis systems with sufficient analytical performance and robustness for deployment in natural waters. The system detects nitrate and nitrite (up to 350 µM, 21.7 mg/L as NO3-) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.025 µM for nitrate (0.0016 mg/L as NO3-) and 0.02 µM for nitrite (0.00092 mg/L as NO2-). This performance is suitable for almost all natural waters (apart from the oligotrophic open ocean), and the device was deployed in an estuarine environment (Southampton Water) to monitor nitrate+nitrite concentrations in waters of varying salinity. The system was able to track changes in the nitrate-salinity relationship of estuarine waters due to increased river flow after a period of high rainfall.
Laboratory characterization and deployment data are presented, demonstrating the ability of the system to acquire data with high temporal resolution.
0013-936X
9548-9556
Beaton, Alexander D.
b33c89f0-5c08-4cbb-9718-51c5c5179ff0
Cardwell, Christopher L.
9e61f59c-959d-4dac-8320-8163f2a2158a
Thomas, Rupert S.
b53856b9-6d7d-438d-9bdf-7e4bb4e6b8a8
Sieben, Vincent J.
7c2fe2a3-4b9c-4359-835e-ea375b25d30f
Legiret, François-Eric
954da4a6-fb75-4899-b8c9-04bed2749f89
Waugh, Edward M.
bf1debbf-0db9-43d3-84a5-044a22c52748
Statham, Peter J.
51458f15-d6e2-4231-8bba-d0567f9e440c
Mowlem, Matthew C.
6f633ca2-298f-48ee-a025-ce52dd62124f
Morgan, Hywel
de00d59f-a5a2-48c4-a99a-1d5dd7854174
Beaton, Alexander D.
b33c89f0-5c08-4cbb-9718-51c5c5179ff0
Cardwell, Christopher L.
9e61f59c-959d-4dac-8320-8163f2a2158a
Thomas, Rupert S.
b53856b9-6d7d-438d-9bdf-7e4bb4e6b8a8
Sieben, Vincent J.
7c2fe2a3-4b9c-4359-835e-ea375b25d30f
Legiret, François-Eric
954da4a6-fb75-4899-b8c9-04bed2749f89
Waugh, Edward M.
bf1debbf-0db9-43d3-84a5-044a22c52748
Statham, Peter J.
51458f15-d6e2-4231-8bba-d0567f9e440c
Mowlem, Matthew C.
6f633ca2-298f-48ee-a025-ce52dd62124f
Morgan, Hywel
de00d59f-a5a2-48c4-a99a-1d5dd7854174

Beaton, Alexander D., Cardwell, Christopher L., Thomas, Rupert S., Sieben, Vincent J., Legiret, François-Eric, Waugh, Edward M., Statham, Peter J., Mowlem, Matthew C. and Morgan, Hywel (2012) Lab-on-Chip Measurement of Nitrate and Nitrite for In Situ Analysis of Natural Waters. Environmental Science & Technology, 46 (17), 9548-9556. (doi:10.1021/es300419u).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Microfluidic technology permits the miniaturization of chemical analytical methods that are traditionally undertaken using benchtop equipment in the laboratory environment. When applied to environmental monitoring, these “lab-on-chip” systems could allow high-performance chemical analysis methods to be performed in situ over distributed sensor networks with large numbers of measurement nodes. Here we present the first of a new generation of microfluidic chemical analysis systems with sufficient analytical performance and robustness for deployment in natural waters. The system detects nitrate and nitrite (up to 350 µM, 21.7 mg/L as NO3-) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.025 µM for nitrate (0.0016 mg/L as NO3-) and 0.02 µM for nitrite (0.00092 mg/L as NO2-). This performance is suitable for almost all natural waters (apart from the oligotrophic open ocean), and the device was deployed in an estuarine environment (Southampton Water) to monitor nitrate+nitrite concentrations in waters of varying salinity. The system was able to track changes in the nitrate-salinity relationship of estuarine waters due to increased river flow after a period of high rainfall.
Laboratory characterization and deployment data are presented, demonstrating the ability of the system to acquire data with high temporal resolution.

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More information

Published date: 2012
Organisations: Electronics & Computer Science, Ocean Biochemistry & Ecosystems, Ocean Technology and Engineering

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 343350
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/343350
ISSN: 0013-936X
PURE UUID: d355fd84-ad25-4437-8926-b8fc443a032d
ORCID for Matthew C. Mowlem: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7613-6121
ORCID for Hywel Morgan: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4850-5676

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 01 Oct 2012 16:12
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:18

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Contributors

Author: Alexander D. Beaton
Author: Christopher L. Cardwell
Author: Rupert S. Thomas
Author: Vincent J. Sieben
Author: François-Eric Legiret
Author: Edward M. Waugh
Author: Matthew C. Mowlem ORCID iD
Author: Hywel Morgan ORCID iD

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