The goal of this project is to create a portable device that enables someone to test the quality of water quickly and easily.
To do this, a staining chemical is used which specifically binds to the DNA within bacteria, creating a strong signal. This
stain, when excited with UV (365nm) light, will fluoresce into blue (460nm) light. By running this signal through a
spectrometer system (consisting of a collection/collimating lens, transmission grating, and focusing lens), it is possible to
ensure that the light signal is purely from the stain’s fluorescence. With ZEMAX, it is possible to model the varied
fluorescence intensity of any object and subsequently design a lens system to collect, collimate, and split the various
wavelength components to then focus onto a photodiode. By doing a hand calculated estimate of the system, ZEMAX is
then able to quickly optimize the solution and give recommendation on the exact power and size of the lenses. Typically,
these water quality detectors view byproducts of the bacteria, such as proteins to predict the concentration of bacteria within
water. This device operates differently: since the stain is only fluorescent if it binds to bacteria, then it is easily able to
deduce the exact concentration of bacteria without having to consider other proteins that may have already existed within
the sample. Additionally, this system utilizes low-cost components, is portable, and has an attached UVC light to clean the
main water body. The Smarter-Portable Water Bacterial Detector aims to be a system that enables people to quickly and
easily tests for the quality of water. By utilizing fluorescence, it is possible to get a quick and accurate reading on the
bacterial concentration of any water source.
Project Website
(Must be on UCF WIFI or VPN to access)Advisors: Stephen Kuebler and Sonali Das