Researchers develop nano-strips for inexpensive testing of
mercury levels in our lakes and oceans with unprecedented sensitivity
Mercury, when dumped in lakes and rivers, accumulates in
fish, and often ends up on our plates. A Swiss-American team of researchers led
by Francesco Stellacci at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
and Bartosz Grzybowski at Northwestern University has devised a simple,
inexpensive system based on nanoparticles, a kind of nano-velcro, to detect and
trap this toxic pollutant as well as others. The particles are covered with
tiny hairs that can grab onto toxic heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium.