Paper 13310-27
Plasmonic tastebuds for the optical assessment of water contaminants (Invited Paper)
26 January 2025 • 9:25 AM - 9:50 AM PST | Moscone South, Room 212 (Level 2)
Abstract
Reliable monitoring of water systems is crucial for human and ecological health. The lead time between sampling and analysis delays responses to naturally occurring events (i.e. changes in salinity, metabolic activity, etc.) and manmade contamination events. Here, we employ plasmonic metasurfaces as 'nano-tastebud' sensors for monitoring the composition of and changes in various water sources. This system, optimized through chemometric analysis, can offer real-time data enhancing response times, helping guide policy, and optimizing water treatment to reduce energy use and carbon footprint.
Presenter
Univ. of Glasgow (United Kingdom)
Dr. Justin R Sperling is a research associate at the University of Glasgow with expertise in nano-and microfabrication of metamaterial sensing devices. His work has included projects covering (1) the production of novel nanophotonic devices for applications in structural color and bio-chemical sensing, (2) micro- and nano-patterned metasurface design and fabrication, and (3) flexible electronic design and fabrication of neural implant technologies using 2D materials. Justin is currently serving on the executive committee of the Environmental Sensing Technical Group of Optica and on the programming committee for BO305 (BiOS, Photonics West 2025).