Iron (III) determination in bioethanol fuel using a smartphone-based device

Paper-based colorimetric sensor using Photoshop and a smartphone app for the quantitative detection of carbofuran

We developed a smartphone-assisted microchemistry analyzer for the quantitative detection of carbofuran using a paper-based colorimetric sensor, Photoshop software, and a smartphone app. The changes in color of the carbofuran enzymatic reaction in the paper-based sensor were captured and analyzed using a smartphone-controlled analyzer with an LED light source and a smartphone camera. The high accuracy of this method was demonstrated for the determination of carbofuran with a linear response in the range 0.05-1.0 ppm and limits of detection (LOD) of 0.02 and 0.018 ppm using Photoshop and smartphone app colorimetric analysis, respectively. These two methods not only show the high sensitivity and highly quantitative relationships between the concentrations of commercial carbofuran and characteristic color values of the blue channel in smartphone images but were also applied to infusions of tea. Moreover, the smartphone app is able to GPS tag the location of the test and transmit the results to a website that displays quantitative results from carbofuran samples on a map.

Decentralized environmental applications of a smartphone-based method for chemical oxygen demand and color analysis

This study is focused on a proposal of a smartphone imaging-based quantification for providing a simple and rapid method for the analysis of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color throughout the use of the HSV and/or RGB model in digital devices. For COD, calibration curves were done based on the theoretical values of potassium biphthalate for a proper comparison between the spectrophotometer and the smartphone techniques. The smartphone camera and application attain an average accuracy higher than the analysis in the spectrophotometer (98.3 and 96.2%, respectively). In the color analysis, it was demonstrated that only the UV-vis bands measurement is not feasible to perform the real abatement of the dye in the water because the limiting concentration that allows obtaining a linear relationship in this equipment related to the dye concentration is about 10 mg L^-1. Above this value, the spectrophotometer can not reach the real difference of color in the solution. Meanwhile, the smartphone method by using the camera reaches linearity until 50 mg L^-1. From an environmental point of view, smartphones have been used for monitoring several organic and inorganic pollutants, however, no attempts have been published related to their use to evaluate the color and COD during wastewater treatment. Therefore, this investigation also aims to assess the utilization of these methods, for the first time, when high-colored water polluted by methylene blue (MB) was electrochemically treated by using a boron-dopped diamond (BDD) as the anode, with different current densities (j = 30, 45, 60, and 90 mA cm^-2). COD and color abatement results clearly showed that different organic matter/color removal efficiencies were achieved, depending on the j used. All the results are aligned with the studies already available in the literature, with the total removal of color in 120 min of electrolysis with 60 and 90 mA cm^-2, and almost 80% of COD abatement with the higher j. Moreover, samples of real effluent from beauty salons were compared, with standard deviation varying from only 3 to 40 mg O₂ L^-1, which is acceptable for COD values close to 2000. Finally, the methods here presented can be a great benefit for public water monitoring policies, since it is cheap and has a decentralized characteristic, given that smartphones are very common and portable devices.

Smartphone-based digital image colorimetry for determination of iron in cereals and crispy seaweed using Terminalia chebula retz. extract as a natural reagent

In this research, a novel sample pretreatment of whole wheat bread, granola, and crispy seaweed samples was developed for iron(III) determination by digital image colorimetry. The developed method was compared with UV-visible spectrophotometry. The procedure involved weighing the sample (∼0.1 g) and mixing it with a mixture of concentrated nitric acid (65%) and hydrogen peroxide (30%) (2 : 1 v/v). Then, the mixture was irradiated with UV light until it became dry. The residue was then dissolved in deionized water. The sample solution was diluted with deionized water before forming a complex with Terminalia chebula Retz. extract in acetate buffer. Under the optimal conditions, the color of the complexes was violet. When analyzed with an inhouse developed smartphone-based digital image colorimeter, the linear range was 1.0-6.0 mg L^-1 with a correlation coefficient of >0.993. The percentage recoveries were in the range of 84.8-90.2. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 1.06 and 3.55 mg L^-1, respectively. From the results, it can be concluded that the developed method is accurate, simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly. The statistical paired t-test proved that there was no significant difference in the results when compared with a UV-visible microplate reader using gallic acid as the color forming reagent and a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer as a reference instrument at 95% confidence level.

Development of a versatile smartphone-based environmental analyzer (vSEA) and its application in on-site nutrient detection

The citizen-science-based environmental survey can benefit from the smartphone technology used in chemical and biological sensing of a wide range of analytes. Quantification by smartphone-based colorimetric assays is being increasingly reported, however, most of the quantification uses empirical formula or complex exhaustive methods. In this study, a versatile and robust algorithm is proposed to overcome these limitations. A model is established to simulate and analyze the conversion process from the camera's spectral information into RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color information. Moreover, the feasibility of the algorithm for the quantification of different analytes is also explored. Based on this algorithm, a versatile smartphone-based environmental analyzer (vSEA) is built and its reliability, versatility, and analytical performance are comprehensively optimized. The good linearity (R² ≥ 0.9954) and precision (relative standard deviations < 5.3%) indicates that the vSEA is accurate enough to quantify the nutrients in most natural waters. Furthermore, the vSEA is used for the field measurement of five important nutrients, and the results show no significant difference compared to conventional methods. The vSEA offers a simpler and easier method for the on-site measurement of nutrients in natural water bodies, which can aid in the emergency monitoring of aqueous ecosystems and the performance of citizen-science-based research.

Solving Color Reproducibility between Digital Devices: A Robust Approach of Smartphones Color Management for Chemical (Bio)Sensors

In the past twelve years, digital image colorimetry (DIC) on smartphones has acquired great importance as an alternative to the most common analytical techniques. This analysis method is based on fast, low-cost, and easily-accessible technology, which can provide quantitative information about an analyte through the color changes of a digital image. Despite the fact that DIC is very widespread, it is not exempt from a series of problems that are not fully resolved yet, such as variability of the measurements between smartphones, image format in which color information is stored, power distribution of the illuminant used for the measurements, among others. This article proposes a methodology for the standardization and correction of these problems using self-developed software, together with the use of a 3D printed light box. This methodology is applied to three different colorimetric analyses using different types and brands of smartphones, proving that comparable measurements between devices can be achieved. As color can be related to many target analytes, establishing this measurement methodology can lead to new control analysis applicable to diverse sectors such as alimentary, industrial, agrarian, or sanitary.

A simple and cost-effective smartphone-based digital imaging device for the quantification of selected heavy metals in Thai rice

This paper describes smartphone-based digital imaging equipment for lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc determination in Thai rice that is both convenient and cost-effective. This smartphone-based digital imaging device has a built-in light control box made of poly(lactic acid) or PLA, a compostable and biodegradable plastic, with a light control circuit box underneath that uses a single white light-emitting diode (LED) lamp and takes photos at only 20 lux, which is very low but clearly captures the color of heavy metal complexes. In the present study, the dithizone ligand in different buffers is employed to produce a specific color solution for each heavy metal. According to the output from the free Color Name application, the concentration of heavy metals is proportional to the intensity of the resulting red color. A linear range of 0.1-1.0 mg L^-1 was obtained. The lower detection limit was determined to be between 0.01 and 0.05 mg L^-1, whereas the quantification limit was in the range from 0.04 to 0.15 mg L^-1. The intra-day precision (%RSD, n = 5) was 0.4-0.8 with high consistency, while the inter-day precision (%RSD, n = 5) was 0.5-0.8 with good efficacy. The recovery rate for heavy metals added to samples of Thai rice ranged from 99.4 to 105.5 percent. Heavy metals were detected in a variety of rice samples utilizing the smartphone-based digital imaging equipment, with acceptable accuracy when compared to atomic absorption spectrophotometric data using a paired t-test. This smartphone-based digital imaging is efficient, accessible, and cost-effective, and it provides a viable alternative to existing heavy metal detection methods in Thai rice.

A Portable Reflective Absorbance Spectrophotometric Smartphone Device for the Rapid and Highly Accurate Determination of Amlodipine in Pharmaceutical Formulation and Human Urine Samples

The simple reflective absorbance spectrophotometric smartphone device for point-of-monitoring amlodipine is presented here for the first time. The immediate analysis of amlodipine in the human urine of the patients who suffered severe side effects of this drug is very important for the diagnosis, treatment, and reduction of the death rate. This measurement technique is based on the charge-transfer complex between amlodipine and picric acid, which forms a yellow product. This product can absorb light intensity from an LED strip and measure through the Blue channel from the RGB mode with a smartphone application. The linear relationship for amlodipine monitoring was found in a wide range from 100.0 μg L^-1 to 140.0 mg L^-1 (R² = 0.999), and the limit of detection was found to be 25.0 μg L^-1. Our proposed method can be applied to different smartphone brands with consistent sensitivity of amlodipine detection. Additionally, the determination of amlodipine in pharmaceutical formulations and human urine samples was demonstrated by our proposed method. The recoveries were indicated in the range of 98.60 - 100.00%, which is at the acceptable level for pharmacy. This method offers an interweaving of basic technology and chemical analysis with being environmentally friendly due to reducing the complex instrument and the amount of organic waste compared to the chromatographic technique and efficient use for the detection of amlodipine. Hence, this method can be applied for prompt medical diagnoses and laboratories with limited budget resources.

Development and Application of Mobile Apps for Molecular Sensing: A Review

Modern smartphone-based sensing devices are generally standalone detection platforms that can transduce signals (via the built-in USB port, audio jack, or camera), perform analysis through mobile applications (apps), and display results on the screen/user interface. The advancement toward this ultimate form of on-site chemical analysis and point-of-care diagnosis is tied closely with the evolution of mobile technology. Previous reviews in the field mainly focused on the physical platforms while overlooking the role of mobile apps in such devices. There exist three general stages throughout the development: (1) early generation telemedicine, (2) mobile phone-assisted clinical diagnosis (without apps), and (3) mobile app-based sensing devices for various analytes. This review presents the key breakthroughs during each stage, recent development, remaining challenges, and future perspectives of the field. Representative examples, spanning from the pioneering point-of-care testing to the latest devices with integrated mobile apps, are classified by their sensing mechanisms. The review also discusses the scarcity of open-source apps dedicated to molecular sensing. With the introduction of more open-source and commercial apps, the mobile app-based detection system is anticipated to dominate point-of-care diagnosis and on-site molecular sensing in our opinion.

Smartphone-based optical analysis systems

During the past few decades, there has been a growing trend towards the use of smartphone-based analysis systems. This is mainly due to its ubiquity, its increasing computing capacity, its relatively low cost and the ability to acquire and process data at the same time. Furthermore, there are many sensors integrated into a smartphone, for example a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. A CMOS sensor enables optical analysis for example by using it as a colorimeter, photometer or spectrometer. This review explores the current state-of-the-art smartphone-based optical analysis systems in various areas of application. It is organized into three sections, each of which investigates one class of smartphone-based devices: (i) smartphone-based colorimeters (ii) smartphone-based photo- and spectrometers and (iii) smartphone-based fluorimeters.

Fabrication of a Smartphone-Based Spectrophotometer and Its Application in Monitoring Concentrations of Organic Dyes

In this study, an in-house constructed paper-based spectrophotometer is presented and demonstrated for detecting three organic dyes, namely, methylene blue, malachite green, and rhodamine B, and monitoring the efficiency of their removal from a wastewater sample with Sistan sand as a costless adsorbent. The compact design and light weight of this simple spectrophotometer delivered portability, with materials costing less than a dollar. Spectral analysis of the captured images was performed using free downloadable software from the Google Play store. The main experimental parameters affecting the efficiency of dye adsorption including pH, sorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, and contact time were investigated and optimized using the Taguchi design experimental method. Validation experiments were performed using a standard commercial bench-top spectrophotometer, and results were compared in terms of analytical performance, speed, and cost of analysis. The smartphone-based spectrometer was able to measure accurately, as confirmed using the commercial spectrometer, with enhanced sensitivity for methylene blue and rhodamine B. The combination of the high spectral accuracy of the paper-based spectrophotometer, together with sand as a readily accessible sorbent, enabled us to develop a powerful yet simple approach and tool for the removal and monitoring of dyes within wastewater samples, which is potentially available to everybody who owns a smartphone.

Sensitive detection of iron (II) sulfate with a novel reagent using spectrophotometry

In this study, a novel reagent was developed for sensitive detection of iron (II) sulfate, spectrophotometrically. A novel thio-anthraquinone derivative, 1-(Dodecylthio)anthracene-9,10-dione (3), was synthesized from the chemical reaction of 1-Chloroanthraquinone (1) and 1-Dodecanethiol (2) by an original reaction method and was used in the preparation of the novel reagent called Catal's reagent. A synthesized thio-anthraquinone analogue (3) was purified by column chromatography, and its chemical structure was characterized by spectroscopic methods such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), and ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectrophotometry. The chemical and molecular structure of the developed thio-antraquinone derivative (3) was illuminated using computational methods with the GaussView5 and Gaussian09 programs. Various solvents including ethanol, methanol, and acetonitrile were examined in the preparation of the reagent. A concentration range from 0.2 mg mL^-1 up to 10 mg mL^-1 of iron (II) sulfate heptahydrate solution in distilled water was prepared. The absorption spectra of Catal's reagent (0.816 mM) showed three peaks between 185 nm-700 nm of wavelength. However, after the reaction with H₂O₂ and the 30 mM trisodium citrate dihydrate mixture in the presence of an iron sulfate (II) solution, a single peak was observed, producing a stable and reddish/brownish homogenous solution (λ max = 304 nm). The following concentrations of iron (II) sulfate heptahydrate was examined using developed protocol and the reagent, and the concentrations were measured spectrophotometrically at 304 nm, 0.2-1 mg mL^-1. Absorbances of reaction mixtures of iron (II) sulfate remained stable up to 48 h. The results indicated that the novel Catal's reagent can be used for sensitive spectrophotometric detection of iron (II) sulfate in aqueous solutions.

3D-printing pen versus desktop 3D-printers: Fabrication of carbon black/polylactic acid electrodes for single-drop detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene

The fabrication of carbon black/polylactic acid (PLA) electrodes using a 3D printing pen is presented and compared with electrodes obtained by a desktop fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printer. The 3D pen was used for the fast production of electrodes in two designs using customized 3D printed parts to act as template and guide the reproducible application of the 3D pen: (i) a single working electrode at the bottom of a 3D-printed cylindrical body and (ii) a three-electrode system on a 3D-printed planar substrate. Both devices were electrochemically characterized using the redox probe [Fe(CN)₆]^3-/4- via cyclic voltammetry, which presented similar performance to an FDM 3D-printed electrode or a commercial screen-printed carbon electrode (SPE) regarding peak-to-peak separation (ΔEp) and current density. The surface treatment of the carbon black/PLA electrodes fabricated by both 3D pen and FDM 3D-printing procedures provided substantial improvement of the electrochemical activity by removing excess of PLA, which was confirmed by scanning electron microscopic images for electrodes fabricated by both procedures. Structural defects were not inserted after the electrochemical treatment as shown by Raman spectra (i_D/i_G), which indicates that the use of 3D pen can replace desktop 3D printers for electrode fabrication. Inter-electrode precision for the best device fabricated using the 3D pen (three-electrode system) was 4% (n = 5) considering current density and anodic peak potential for the redox probe. This device was applied for the detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) via square-wave voltammetry of a single-drop of 100 μL placed upon the thee-electrode system, resulting in three reduction peaks commonly verified for TNT on carbon electrodes. Limit of detection of 1.5 μmol L^-1, linear range from 5 to 500 μmol L^-1 and RSD lower than 4% for 10 repetitive measurements of 100 μmol L^-1 TNT were obtained. The proposed devices can be reused after polishing on sandpaper generating new electrode surfaces, which is an extra advantage over chemically-modified electrochemical sensors applied for TNT detection.

Electrochemical synthesis of Prussian blue from iron impurities in 3D-printed graphene electrodes: Amperometric sensing platform for hydrogen peroxide

This communication shows the electrochemical synthesis of Prussian blue (PB) films on additive manufactured (3D-printed) electrodes from iron impurities found at the graphene-polylactic acid (G/PLA) substrate and its application as a highly selective sensor for H₂O₂. The 3D-printed G/PLA electrode was immersed in dimethylformamide for 30 min to exposure the iron impurities within the PLA matrix. Next, cyclic voltammograms (200 cycles) in the presence of potassium ferricyanide in 0.1 mol L^-1 KCl + 0.01 mol L^-1 HCl were performed to grow the PB films. The sensing properties of this novel PB/G/PLA platform were evaluated for the amperometric detection of H₂O₂ using batch-injection analysis, with a limit of detection of 0.56 μmol L^-1 under the application of 0.0 V (vs Ag/AgCl/KCl_sat.). The applicability of the sensor was demonstrated for the analysis of milk samples (10-fold diluted in the supporting electrolyte), resulting in proper recovery values (94-101%).