AroTrack

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About AroTrack:

It accurately detects harmful aromatic xenobiotic pollutants such as phenol or benzene, xylenols.
It uses proteins typically found in bacteria living in heavily polluted environments to effectively identify multiple aromatic pollutants in water.
This protein undergoes a highly selective ATP hydrolysis chemical reaction if an aromatic compound is present in the sample.
This reaction is expressed with a change in the colour of the protein solution, which AroTrack can then detect.
AroTrack contains a light emitting diode [LED]-phototransistor assembly that shines a light of appropriate wavelength through the sample and detects how much is absorbed.
The key component of the device is a biosensing module called MopR – a sensitive sensor for detecting phenol.
The device also reliably worked in water temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius and completed the tests in less than 30 minutes.
Significance: It’s low cost, battery-operated nature, and portability can be ideal for rural and low-income settings that often lack resources and have difficulty accessing expensive laboratory tests.

Q1: What are Xenobiotics?

These are substances foreign to living systems and include drugs, pesticides, pollutants, carcinogens, volatile petrochemicals, food additives, and polluted working environments.

News: IIT Bombay scientists develop water-pollutant detecting device ‘AroTrack’