Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar develop ArsenSafe for arsenic detection

Key facts

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar have developed a portable, handheld device named ArsenSafe to detect arsenic contamination in drinking water.
• The device was developed by Nano Semic, a startup led by faculty members Sayan Dey and Akshay K, and incubated at the Research and Entrepreneurship Park of IIT Bhubaneswar.
• ArsenSafe utilizes a reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-based sensing system and integrates nanotechnology with machine learning to enhance accuracy and sensitivity.
• The device is designed to detect arsenic concentrations in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) safety standards.
• The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) identified arsenic concentrations exceeding the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) permissible limit of 0.01 mg/l in the Odisha districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur.