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Sensor detects toxins leaching from plastic

A new device created by two engineers at Massey University is able to “detect synthetic compounds that leach from plastic food packaging into the contained food or beverage.” Dr. Asif Zia and Professor Subhas Mukhopadhyay created a device capable of quantifying various synthetic compounds such as bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthatlate, otherwise known as DEHP. Compounds such as DEHP are used to induce flexibility in plastics. The major concern for the public comes in the fact that DEHP has been identified as an endocrine disruptor. The test takes less than ten minutes to complete, and is conducted by swirling a 2.5 mm by 2.5 mm sensor through a liquid. The test is so precise; it is capable of detecting toxin levels “as low as two parts per billion.” According to Dr. Zia, the major benefits of the test he and Professor Mukhopadhyay have created are its extremely long shelf life, the fact that it can be regenerated and reused, and that it works so quickly. While the United States has banned the use of DEHP in plastics, many other countries have not. The creators hope a device such as their can ultimately be fitted and used in smart homes throughout the world. Dr. Zia and Professor Mukhopadhyay aren’t spending a lot of time celebrating their breakthrough though; they’re already hard at work on a “biological version of the sensor that would detect collagen in blood samples” which could indicate osteoporosis.

To learn more about the toxin detecting device created by Dr. Zia and Professor Mukhopadhyay, click the link: http://bit.ly/1OV4jpc