Breaking News: New Cost-Effective Method Detects Low Concentrations of Pharmaceutical Waste and Contaminants in Water

Pharmaceutical waste and contaminants in water have become a growing global concern, especially in terms of drinking water and food safety. In response to this critical issue, researchers at Bar-Ilan University have developed a highly sensitive plasmonic-based detector capable of specifically targeting the detection of harmful piperidine residue in water.

The team’s groundbreaking work has been published in the journal Environmental Science: Nano, offering a promising solution to the detection of minuscule amounts of piperidine, a toxic molecule posing significant health risks to humans and animals.

The plasmonic substrate, developed at Bar-Ilan University, comprises triangular cavities milled in a silver thin film and protected by a 5-nanometer layer of silicon dioxide, providing unparalleled sensitivity to piperidine and detecting low concentrations in water.

Mohamed Hamode, a Ph.D. student at Bar-Ilan’s Department of Chemistry, in collaboration with Dr. Elad Segal, utilized a focused ion microscope to drill nanometer-sized holes on a metal surface, creating holes of various shapes to enhance the electrical field on the surface, leading to concentrated light in very small areas. This amplification enables optical phenomena to be significantly increased, allowing for the identification of low concentrations of previously undetectable molecules with optical probes.

The plasmonic substrate offers an efficient alternative to other substrates currently used in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), paving the way for cost-effective and portable Raman devices that enable quicker and more affordable analysis.

Prof. Adi Salomon, senior researcher at Bar-Ilan’s Department of Chemistry and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, emphasized the significance of this study as a significant advancement in the field of environmental monitoring by leveraging nano-patterned metallic surfaces to demonstrate the detection of low concentrations of harmful molecules.