find way for numerous sensor applications. Combining nanomaterials with functional probes can help achieve a reduced detection limit for water pollutants.
Nanomaterial based sensors show enhanced sensitivity, quick response, small size,
facile sample preparation and detection, and are cost effective. Recent advances in
nanomaterial engineering have opened up new opportunities for development of
sensors having multifunctions or sensor arrays which can detect multiple analytes.
For testing bacteria, differentiation between live and dead bacteria is also a challenge as dead bacteria also give a signal if the cell structure is intact. Although a lot
of efforts have been put to commercialize the nanomaterial based sensors but still
there is no breakthrough due to challenges at the technical and fabrication fronts.
There is still a need of progressive research to improve performance, lower the cost,
more facile fabrication methods for better implementation.
6 Conclusions
Sustainability of water quality is becoming more and more challenging because of
which it is imperative to find a pollutant detection technique which has an early
warning detection, is quick, sensitive reliable, cost effective and can continuously
detect contaminants. Though continuous and real time monitoring of water contaminants is hard, remarkable achievements have been made in this area. The use of
wireless networks in monitoring system is being introduced but they have their own
shortcomings and are in developing stage for water contaminants. Nanomaterial
based sensing has gained popularity due to various merits like high sensitivity and
miniaturization of device but health/environmental implications of nanomaterials
has to be taken care of. Also, hybrid technologies are more appreciated as they are
more advantageous than their single counterpart. Recent trend is to integrate the
sensing device to smart phones/other portable electronic devices and convert the
signals to useful information using embedded system app. A plethora of literature is
available for techniques on water contaminant detection but commercialization of
the techniques is still a challenge due to instrumental complexity, storage capability
and stability of sensing devices. For a successful design of sensor fundamental
understanding of sensing mechanism and sensor components is required as
degradation, variation in sensor performance and reliable calibration process is a
common issue which needs to be addressed.
References
1. Vikesland, P. J. (2018). Nanosensors for water quality monitoring. Nature Nanotechnology,
13(8), 651.
2. Banna, M. H., Imran, S., Francisque, A., Najjaran, H., Sadiq, R., Rodriguez, M., et al.
(2014). Online drinking water quality monitoring: Review on available and emerging
290
R. Soni et al.
Nanomaterial based sensors show enhanced sensitivity, quick response, small size,
facile sample preparation and detection, and are cost effective. Recent advances in
nanomaterial engineering have opened up new opportunities for development of
sensors having multifunctions or sensor arrays which can detect multiple analytes.
For testing bacteria, differentiation between live and dead bacteria is also a challenge as dead bacteria also give a signal if the cell structure is intact. Although a lot
of efforts have been put to commercialize the nanomaterial based sensors but still
there is no breakthrough due to challenges at the technical and fabrication fronts.
There is still a need of progressive research to improve performance, lower the cost,
more facile fabrication methods for better implementation.
6 Conclusions
Sustainability of water quality is becoming more and more challenging because of
which it is imperative to find a pollutant detection technique which has an early
warning detection, is quick, sensitive reliable, cost effective and can continuously
detect contaminants. Though continuous and real time monitoring of water contaminants is hard, remarkable achievements have been made in this area. The use of
wireless networks in monitoring system is being introduced but they have their own
shortcomings and are in developing stage for water contaminants. Nanomaterial
based sensing has gained popularity due to various merits like high sensitivity and
miniaturization of device but health/environmental implications of nanomaterials
has to be taken care of. Also, hybrid technologies are more appreciated as they are
more advantageous than their single counterpart. Recent trend is to integrate the
sensing device to smart phones/other portable electronic devices and convert the
signals to useful information using embedded system app. A plethora of literature is
available for techniques on water contaminant detection but commercialization of
the techniques is still a challenge due to instrumental complexity, storage capability
and stability of sensing devices. For a successful design of sensor fundamental
understanding of sensing mechanism and sensor components is required as
degradation, variation in sensor performance and reliable calibration process is a
common issue which needs to be addressed.
References
1. Vikesland, P. J. (2018). Nanosensors for water quality monitoring. Nature Nanotechnology,
13(8), 651.
2. Banna, M. H., Imran, S., Francisque, A., Najjaran, H., Sadiq, R., Rodriguez, M., et al.
(2014). Online drinking water quality monitoring: Review on available and emerging
290
R. Soni et al.