UC San Diego

Arsenic (As) is an extremely toxic element that exists in the environment in different chemical forms. The detection of arsenic in potable water remains a challenging task. This study presents a highly sensitive enzymatic catalysis system for trace sensing of inorganic arsenic in water. This is the first enzyme-catalyzed fluorescence assay capable of detecting arsenic at concentrations below the allowable level adopted by the World Health Organization (10 ppb in drinking water). The enzyme catalytically produces fluorescent NADH in the presence of arsenate, which enables facile detection of arsenate at concentrations in the 0-200 ppb range. Calibration curves made at a set time interval allow accurate determination of unknown arsenic samples. This method holds potential for interfacing with automated analytical sampling systems to allow arsenic determinations in environmental health applications.