Determination of Mercury with a Miniature Sensor for Point-of-Care Testing

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andreasi Bassi C ; Forst L ; Papautsky I ; Wu Z
• Description:
  In developing countries, subsistence gold mining entails mixing metallic mercury with crushed sediments to extract gold. In this approach, the gold-mercury amalgam is heated to evaporate mercury and obtain gold. Thus, the highly volatile mercury can be absorbed through inhalation, resulting in adverse health effects. Urinalysis can be used to detect mercury, which is excreted in urine and feces, and correlate exposure with toxic effects. The current gold standard analytical methods are based on fluorescence or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry methods, but are expensive, time consuming, and are not easily accessible in countries where testing is needed. In this work, we report on a miniature electrochemical sensor that can rapidly detect mercury in urine at levels well below the US Biological Exposure Index (BEI) limit of 50 ppb (µg/L). The sensor is based on a thin-film gold electrode and anodic stripping voltammetry electroanalytical approach. The sensor successfully detected mercury at trace levels in urine, with a limit of detection of approx. 15 ppb Hg in the linear range of 20-80 ppb. With the low-cost disposable sensors and portable instrumentation, it is well suited for point-of-care applications. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mercury Occupational Health Safety Urine
• Keywords:
  Analytical Instruments Author Keywords: Anodic Stripping Voltammetry Electrochemical Analysis Electrochemical Sensor Electrochemistry Mercury Determination Point-of-care Sensors Thin Film Gold Sensor Urinalysis Urine

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• ISSN:
  1040-0397
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  35
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067866
• Citation:
  Electroanalysis 2023 Mar; 35(3):e202200234
• Contact Point Address:
  Ian Papautsky, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago, IL, 851 S. Morgan Street, 218 SEO, Chicago, IL 60607 USA
• Email:
  papauts@uic.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Electroanalysis
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2c3a7c76b7231ff6a38cf81ac2b1a2e704f0fb21c8f2995cd843cd6c911b23e2887f2b7523dbd1424634d84906afe817033a8e06199ef6f02b856201972b14f2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230107/cdc_230107_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.91 MB ]