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Single Photon source and detector based on novel materials for the detection of endocrine disruptors

Project description

Innovative sensitive compact detector of harmful contaminants in water

Drinking water is one of the most important natural resources on earth. Contaminants such as endocrine disruptors therefore pose a high health risk and can affect humans and animals even at extremely low concentrations. The EU-funded GREENER project aims to develop a ready-to-use, compact and robust spectrometer with extremely high sensitivity for measuring contaminant concentrations in the (sub)ng/L range. The aim is to develop novel single photon sources based on quantum dots and DNA origami and to build more efficient detectors in the near-infrared wavelength range. The modular spectrometer system based on these components will enable water safety monitoring for endocrine disrupting contaminants for (but not limited to) fisheries and aquaponics without additional infrastructure and trained personnel.

Objective

Water is one of the most important natural resources on earth and despite increasingly strict regulations, contamination of water that poses a health risk is still a major problem. In Europe, too, our drinking water is exposed to contaminants such as hormones, which even in extremely low concentrations can have effects on humans and animals and are therefore of interest for water monitoring in the context of nature conservation and also various branches of industry. Our goal in this project is to provide the layperson with a ready-to-use, compact, and robust spectrometer capable of measuring extremely low concentrations in the sub ng/L range.
To this end, the GREENER project aims to develop new, environmentally friendly QDs capable of near-infrared absorption measurements at emission wavelengths as short as 2µm. These will be singulated by the DNA origami method and integrated into an LED layer stack to synthesize a novel kind of single-photon source. Combined with advanced single-photon detectors enabled by new detector materials that do not require expensive cryogenic coolers but rely on simple thermoelectric cooling, a setup for low-loss, low-noise and high-performance spectroscopy for the Vis to NIR range will be developed. The resulting biosensor will subsequently be evaluated for the detection of critical (endocrine disrupting) contaminants in water in fisheries and aquaponics and will enable end-users to monitor water safety and quality on-side without additional infrastructure or trained personnel.

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01

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Coordinator

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET CHEMNITZ
Net EU contribution
€ 716 001,00
Address
STRASSE DER NATIONEN 62
09111 Chemnitz
Germany
Region
Sachsen Chemnitz Chemnitz
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 716 001,00

Participants (7)