Swapna Jaywant

Citation

Thesis Title
Self-assembled Optical Diffraction Sensor for Water Quality Monitoring

Water contamination is a serious global issue. Contamination by the metal arsenic is particularly concerning, as it is mutagenic and carcinogenic. While lab-based arsenic detection is possible, it requires expensive equipment so is not considered portable, which limits its use in the field. Yet current kit-based methods are unsafe due to toxic by-products. Ms Jaywant therefore aimed to develop a portable and sensitive arsenic sensor with high throughput. Her novelly-designed sensor can detect dissolved arsenic in water at concentrations of up to 10 µgm/L. Her sensor uses a microcontact printing procedure. She explored 3D printing for the production of the devices. Her research also provides a guide towards microcontact printing of a particular compound, dithiothreitol, on a gold coated substrate.

Supervisors
Associate Professor Khalid Arif
Professor Johan Potgieter
Associate Professor Ebu Avci