Design of IOT Enabled Integrative Biosensor to Detect Toxic Heavy Metal Contaminants in Water Reservoirs

Heavy Metals Ions (HMI) are non-biodegradable and toxic contaminants that exist in the environment including water reservoirs such as Lakes, Ponds etc… The major heavy metals found in the different water reservoirs are Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Arsenic (As), Cobalt (Co), Mercury (Hg), Nickel (Ni) and Chromium (Cr). Heavy metals were considered as extremely toxic contaminants, hazardous to agricultural plants and human beings even at finite levels. For instance, the increased levels of these heavy metals lead to hazardous effects such as disruption in photosynthesis process due to the decrease in the synthesis of chlorophyll content, stunted development of plants etc. The effects of heavy metals do not end with crops it also affects the living organisms promoting abnormal condition listed as polycythemia, pathological changes, skin parakeratosis etc. which evidenced that the detection of heavy metals must be performed in rapid, quantifiable, and accurate manner. To obtain Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) quality grade potable water for drinking and agricultural needs, harmful contaminants such as heavy metals in water reservoirs must be screened and monitored correctly, and further need to be remediate applying ecofriendly methods. Sensors are the devices that are available presently, utilizes modern technology for screening and detecting water pollutants with high sensitivity and accuracy. There exists a various sensor which are used to detect the heavy metals in water bodies, but they are less sensitive in the detection of all the toxic heavy metals present in the water reservoirs. To address the issue, present study proposed an integrated biosensor design, which can adopt for the direct and continuous detection of all the possible heavy metals ions present in the water bodies along with the real time monitoring and management.