Archive · 6 Sep 2025
IIT Guwahati Develops Milk Protein Nanosensor to Detect Water Toxins
Scientists at IIT Guwahati have created a tiny sensor using milk protein and thymine to check water for harmful stuff like mercury and antibiotics.
These sensors use special glowing dots that light up under a special light.
If there's mercury or antibiotics, the glow dims, showing the water is dirty.
It works super fast and can find even tiny amounts of these bad substances.
The sensor works well in different types of water, even in milk and pee!
The sensor is on simple paper strips that can be tested using an ultraviolet lamp, making it easy to find out if water is safe to drink.
This new tech is also very sensitive and can be used for health studies in the future.
IIT Guwahati researchers developed a nanosensor using milk protein and thymine.
The sensor detects mercury and tetracycline antibiotics in water.
The sensor uses carbon dots that dim under ultraviolet light when contaminants are present.
It can detect mercury at levels below US EPA safety standards.
The sensor has been tested in various environments and can be used for biomedical applications.
- Who
- IIT Guwahati researchers led by Prof. Lal Mohan Kundu
- What
- Developed a milk protein-based nanosensor to detect mercury and tetracycline in water.
- When
- The study's findings were published in Microchimica Acta.
- Where
- IIT Guwahati
- Why
- To provide a low-cost, accurate, and sensitive method for detecting water contamination and potential biomedical applications.
- Lead Researchers
- Prof. Lal Mohan Kundu, Pallabi Paul, and Anushka Chakraborty
- Sensor Material
- Milk protein and thymine
- Target Contaminants
- Mercury and Tetracycline antibiotics
- Detection Method
- Carbon dots and ultraviolet light
- Mercury Detection Sensitivity
- 5.3 nanomolar (1.7 parts per billion)
- Tetracycline Detection Sensitivity
- 10-13 nanomolar
- Application
- Water, tap and river water, milk, urine, serum samples
- Publication
- Microchimica Acta