Quartz Crystal Microbalance Sensors: New Tools for the Assessment of Organic Threats to the Quality of Water

Water monitoring technologies are widely used for contaminant detection in a wide variety of water ecology applications such as water treatment plants and water distribution systems. A tremendous amount of research has been conducted over the past decades to develop robust and efficient techniques of contaminant detection with minimum operating cost and energy. Recent developments in spectroscopic techniques and biosensor approach have improved the detection sensitivities, quantitatively and qualitatively. The availability of in-situ measurements and multiple detection analyses has expanded water monitoring applications in various advanced techniques including successful development in hand-held sensing devices, which improves portability in real-time basis for the detection of contaminants, such as microorganisms, pesticides, heavy metal ions, and inorganic and organic components.