Droplet microfluidic-based In situ analyzer for monitoring free nitrate in soil
Droplet microfluidic-based In situ analyzer for monitoring free nitrate in soil
Monitoring nutrients in the soil can provide valuable information for understanding their spatiotemporal variability and informing precise soil management. Here, we describe an autonomous in situ analyzer for the real-time monitoring of nitrate in soil. The analyzer can sample soil nitrate using either microdialysis or ultrafiltration probes placed within the soil and quantify soil nitrate using droplet microfluidics and colorimetric measurement. Compared with traditional manual sampling and lab analysis, the analyzer features low reagent consumption (96 μL per measurement), low maintenance requirement (monthly), and high measurement frequency (2 or 4 measurements per day), providing nondrifting lab-quality data with errors of less than 10% using a microdialysis probe and 2–3% for ultrafiltration. The analyzer was deployed at both the campus garden and forest for different periods of time, being able to capture changes in free nitrate levels in response to manual perturbation by the addition of nitrate standard solutions and natural perturbation by rainfall events.
analyzer, droplet microfluidics, in situ monitoring, microdialysis, soil nitrate, ultrafiltration
2956-2965
Lu, Bingyuan
124a3e2b-15b5-4013-8f14-39a65f01c2a7
Lunn, James
6c99a7b8-00c1-42da-b2ab-a24687c2b2ad
Yeung, Ken
8ad3264f-cf6f-4d61-891b-122100770794
Dhandapani, Selva
57b1b1c1-21b8-4c97-9b16-1d04e19e59a9
Carter, Liam
01ee1c74-c3b3-4f80-bf63-b1820a823c2b
Roose, Tiina
3581ab5b-71e1-4897-8d88-59f13f3bccfe
Shaw, Liz
d01731f6-8db5-4617-809a-2e25fe860c1e
Nightingale, Adrian
4b51311d-c6c3-40d5-a13f-ab8917031ab3
Niu, Xize
f3d964fb-23b4-45db-92fe-02426e4e76fa
30 January 2024
Lu, Bingyuan
124a3e2b-15b5-4013-8f14-39a65f01c2a7
Lunn, James
6c99a7b8-00c1-42da-b2ab-a24687c2b2ad
Yeung, Ken
8ad3264f-cf6f-4d61-891b-122100770794
Dhandapani, Selva
57b1b1c1-21b8-4c97-9b16-1d04e19e59a9
Carter, Liam
01ee1c74-c3b3-4f80-bf63-b1820a823c2b
Roose, Tiina
3581ab5b-71e1-4897-8d88-59f13f3bccfe
Shaw, Liz
d01731f6-8db5-4617-809a-2e25fe860c1e
Nightingale, Adrian
4b51311d-c6c3-40d5-a13f-ab8917031ab3
Niu, Xize
f3d964fb-23b4-45db-92fe-02426e4e76fa
Lu, Bingyuan, Lunn, James, Yeung, Ken, Dhandapani, Selva, Carter, Liam, Roose, Tiina, Shaw, Liz, Nightingale, Adrian and Niu, Xize
(2024)
Droplet microfluidic-based In situ analyzer for monitoring free nitrate in soil.
Environmental Science & Technology, 58 (6), .
(doi:10.1021/acs.est.3c08207).
Abstract
Monitoring nutrients in the soil can provide valuable information for understanding their spatiotemporal variability and informing precise soil management. Here, we describe an autonomous in situ analyzer for the real-time monitoring of nitrate in soil. The analyzer can sample soil nitrate using either microdialysis or ultrafiltration probes placed within the soil and quantify soil nitrate using droplet microfluidics and colorimetric measurement. Compared with traditional manual sampling and lab analysis, the analyzer features low reagent consumption (96 μL per measurement), low maintenance requirement (monthly), and high measurement frequency (2 or 4 measurements per day), providing nondrifting lab-quality data with errors of less than 10% using a microdialysis probe and 2–3% for ultrafiltration. The analyzer was deployed at both the campus garden and forest for different periods of time, being able to capture changes in free nitrate levels in response to manual perturbation by the addition of nitrate standard solutions and natural perturbation by rainfall events.
Text
lu-et-al-2024-droplet-microfluidic-based-in-situ-analyzer-for-monitoring-free-nitrate-in-soil
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 10 January 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 January 2024
Published date: 30 January 2024
Additional Information:
Funding information:
This work was supported by funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NE/R013578/1, NE/S013458/1, and NE/T010584/1).
Keywords:
analyzer, droplet microfluidics, in situ monitoring, microdialysis, soil nitrate, ultrafiltration
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 487476
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/487476
ISSN: 0013-936X
PURE UUID: 07dcc047-35eb-4cca-8350-7280237c0443
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 20 Feb 2024 18:23
Last modified: 18 Apr 2024 01:46
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Contributors
Author:
Bingyuan Lu
Author:
James Lunn
Author:
Ken Yeung
Author:
Selva Dhandapani
Author:
Liam Carter
Author:
Liz Shaw
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