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A self-designed versatile and portable sensing device based on smart phone for colorimetric detection

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Abstract

A UV-vis spectrometer, as a sort of important analytical instrument, has been widely used to analyze various substances. However, expensive equipment and skilled operators are required, which limits its broad applications for out-of-lab and daily measurements. In this work, a self-designed sensing device based on smart phone was developed as a sensitive, cost-effective, facile, and portable testing tool. The sensing device fabricated by 3D printing was used to lodge a sample solution and produce a light signal, and the optical sensor on a smart phone worked as a transducer. The light source in the device generated wide-wavelength radiation, which passed through an inner filter and only light of a designated wavelength reached the testing solution. The intensity of transmitted light was then measured by an optical sensor internally installed in most smart phones, where the signals were processed as well. The feasibility of our device was verified by detecting four kinds of common heavy metal ions in actual water samples, and the testing results showed good agreement with those obtained from the UV-vis spectrometer. This work is expected to shed some light on the construction of smart phone–based sensors, featuring decent portability, simple operation, low cost, high sensitivity, and good accuracy.

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Funding

The work financially supported by Innovation and entrepreneurship project for overseas high-level talents of Shenzhen (KQJSCX20180328165437711), KQTD20170810105439418, Innovative team and talent training project of Shihezi (2018TD02), Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (2018JJ3523), Project on the key technique improvement of Xinjiang Licorice planting and quality control of Xinjiang Production & Construction Corps (2018AB012), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (81773680, 81973280).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, China

    Binghan Li, Zhijie Yang, Dongfang Zhao & Huanhuan Feng

  2. College of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, China

    Jihong Wang & Honghua Tu

  3. Flexible Printed Electronics Technology Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, China

    Huanhuan Feng & Jiao Yang

  4. College of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, China

    Jiao Yang

Authors
  1. Binghan Li
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  2. Jihong Wang
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  3. Honghua Tu
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  4. Zhijie Yang
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  5. Dongfang Zhao
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  6. Huanhuan Feng
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  7. Jiao Yang
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Correspondence to Huanhuan Feng or Jiao Yang.

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Li, B., Wang, J., Tu, H. et al. A self-designed versatile and portable sensing device based on smart phone for colorimetric detection. Anal Bioanal Chem 413, 533–541 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-03024-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-03024-6

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