Over the past few years, there has been a growing global concern about the impact of heavy metal (Cu2+, Hg2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, and others) contamination on the environment and public health. This is because these metals are used more frequently in various industrial, agricultural, domestic, and technological applications, significantly increasing human exposure. Drinking water contaminated with heavy metals is the primary source of human exposure to such toxins. One of the projects in our lab is heavy metal detection using microfluidic electrochemical sensors (μFESs). Finite element analysis using COMSOL Multiphysics is carried out to optimize the electrode structure of μFESs for sensitive ion detection. Two devices with different electrode structures (planar interdigitated and non-planar interdigitated) have been prepared for heavy metal detections.
