鈥淩ecent nutrient management laws introduced by the Government require them to pay if they are predicted to breach certain levels of fertiliser run-off in waterways, and the advice we鈥檝e received from farmers is that there is strong demand for a tool that accurately measures actual phosphate levels in waterways,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檙e planning to deliver.鈥澨
Associate Professor Crittenden says currently there isn鈥檛 a simple, chemical-free way of monitoring phosphate levels. 鈥淧hosphate is a very tricky compound to detect - it's odourless and colourless,鈥痓oth to the naked eye and to sophisticated instruments. But we鈥檝e already developed very sophisticated ways of sensing phosphate in our bodies 鈥 so we are going to learn from nature to develop novel light-sensitive biosensors.鈥澨
The new devices will be designed to be reusable and contained in an easy-to-use, portable marker-pen size device that can be put into rivers and streams. They could boost Aotearoa New Zealand鈥檚 agritech exports and generate up to $8 million a year in export earnings while also cleaning up local waterways, Associate Professor Crittenden says.
The underlying technology could also have applications in medical, industrial and veterinary settings. 鈥淭he modular design of our bio-nanosensors means that this approach can be extended to detecting other pathogens and environmental contaminants.
鈥淥ur end goal is to produce and manufacture our phosphate sensors in Aotearoa New听Zealand, creating local jobs and ensuring all of the benefits of our technology are fully realised in Aotearoa New Zealand.鈥
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