As the summer is dashing, and people love to spent their time in the swimming pools, you have to be careful that the public swimming pools are the source of several dangers as the swimming water contains bacterial contamination.
In order to improve the public safety, McMaster University researchers have reached a new test strip in order to detect E-coli bacteria in the swimming water.
Scientists from the Sentinel Bioactive Paper Network have created and validated the viability of the test strip, which can detect potentially harmful concentrations of E. coli in water quickly and simply, with much greater accuracy than existing portable technology.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada funds Sentinel, a strategic research network that spans the country and is based at McMaster. Several dozen researchers are involved in its initiatives.
Since the late1950s, physicians have been using bioactive paper to test for glucose in urine. In the last several years, the area has expanded quickly and research has become very competitive as scientists work on new applications.
The new strips are coated with chemicals that react to the bacteria, and are printed using inkjet technology similar to that found in standard desktop printers. Within 30 minutes of sampling, the paper changes colour to indicate the presence of E. coli, with colours coded to represent different forms and concentrations of the bacteria.
In the future, the test should make it possible for consumers to check their water affordably and easily, without additional equipment, scientific knowledge or long waits.