Water-Pollutant Detector Device: AroTrack

Context: IIT Bombay has introduced AroTrack, an innovative portable device designed to detect harmful aromatic pollutants like phenol, benzene, and xylenols in water, offering a solution to increasing water pollution challenges.

Key Features

1. Biosensor Technology:
   • Leverages proteins from pollution-adapted bacteria to identify and measure aromatic compounds in water.
2. Detection Mechanism:
   • The biosensor protein reacts with pollutants through ATP hydrolysis (a process releasing energy by breaking ATP bonds).
   • Presence of pollutants triggers a color change that is observable and measurable.
3. MopR Biosensing Module:
   • Derived from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, a bacterium known for its ability to detect phenol.
   • Modified MopR expands the device’s capability to identify other harmful aromatic compounds like benzene and xylenols.
4. Detection Range:
   • Detects pollutant concentrations as low as 10–200 parts per billion (ppb), achieving a precision level equivalent to high-end spectrophotometers.

Applications and Importance

• Environment Monitoring:
  Enables real-time detection of pollutants in water bodies, critical for preventing ecological damage.
• Portable Solution:
  Compact and easy to use, making it suitable for field testing without the need for large laboratory equipment.
• Industrial Usage:
  Assists in monitoring effluents and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations.

Understanding ATP Hydrolysis

• ATP (adenosine triphosphate) hydrolysis involves breaking the high-energy bonds between phosphate groups, releasing energy necessary for biological and chemical reactions.
• In AroTrack, this reaction is linked to the detection of pollutants, making it both innovative and efficient.