Translational Research

Our group aims to provide a cost-effective, scalable, and accessible solution to analyze and remove trace contaminants from water. We are developing technology that keeps communities safe from detrimental trace contaminants in drinking water by empowering them with actionable data and affordable solutions. We collaborate with researchers from MIT, USA and University of Waterloo, Canada for translational research.

The developed technology includes:

• Instantaneous water quality probe (IPI, Patent Number 360251, Date: 07.07.2020). The innovation created an easy-to-use colorimetric test-strip-based technology that analyzes 10 important water quality parameters in less than 2 minutes by combining digitization of colorimetric assays with ICP-MS/MS calibration curves. This innovation was selected for “74 Stories, 74 Years” by the Government of India and mentioned by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India in “Mann Ki Baat” on August 16, 2020.

• A collapsible bottle filled with cation exchange resin that is capable of removing most of the common inorganic contaminants from water. The bottles can remove >95% of dissolved copper, nickel, lead, copper, and zinc, even in very hard water within 2-10 minutes (IPI, Patent Number 395528, Date 10.06.2020). The technology is based on the principle of cation-exchange processes in an aqueous system and provides a new paradigm for water quality monitoring by creating the sampling technology, materials, and system-level protocols to enable dry sample preservation of inorganic pollutants in water samples.

• An enzyme-substrate-based E. coli detection kit for drinking water (IPI, Patent Number 482960, Date of grant: 14.12.2023). The kit detects biomarkers secreted only by E. coli bacteria. The technology won the Innovation Challenge to develop a portable device for water quality testing by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Government of India.