Inexpensive, super-sensitive device detects even low levels
of toxic metals in water, fish
When mercury is dumped into rivers and lakes, the toxic
heavy metal can end up in the fish we eat and the water we drink. To help protect
consumers from the diseases and conditions associated with mercury, researchers
at Northwestern University in collaboration with colleagues at Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, have developed a
nanoparticle system that is sensitive enough to detect even the smallest levels
of heavy metals in our water and fish.