LumiTox Invariant

Inspiration

Water contamination can involve multiple pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. We were inspired by the need for a rapid and accessible way to screen the overall biological toxicity of contaminated water, rather than depending only on individual pollutant detection.

This led us to explore whether a biological response could be converted into a simple optical signal and detected using a smartphone.

Our Idea

We proposed LumiTox Invariant, a smartphone-based optical water-toxicity detection system.

The concept uses a bioluminescent biological sensing component as an indicator of toxicity. When toxic substances cause metabolic or cellular stress, the biological light-producing response can change. This response is captured using a smartphone camera and analyzed through its RGB information.

The major technical challenge is that smartphone-based optical measurements can change with ambient illumination, shadows, reflections, and camera adjustments. To address this, our concept incorporates a controlled optical chamber and chromaticity-ratio normalization to reduce the influence of illumination changes.

The proposed workflow is:

Water sample → Biological response → Bioluminescence change → Smartphone imaging → RGB extraction → Chromaticity normalization → Preliminary toxicity screening

What We Learned

Through developing this concept, we learned how biological sensing, optical detection, smartphone imaging, and computational image analysis can be integrated into a single environmental biotechnology application.

We also explored how bioluminescence can act as a biological indicator of toxicity and how colour-based image processing can help improve the consistency of smartphone measurements.

How We Developed the Concept

We developed LumiTox by first identifying the limitations of conventional toxicity assessment and then designing a workflow around a biological response.

The biological component provides the toxicity signal, while the smartphone provides a portable detection platform. RGB analysis is then used to convert the captured optical response into measurable information.

The concept is intended for preliminary screening, with samples requiring further investigation being suitable for detailed laboratory analysis.

Challenges

One of the main challenges was addressing the effect of changing illumination on smartphone measurements. A brighter or darker environment can change the recorded RGB values even when the biological response remains the same.

Another challenge was designing the system so that it focuses on the combined biological effect of contaminants, rather than requiring a separate test for every possible pollutant.

These challenges shaped the LumiTox concept and led us toward combining controlled optical conditions with chromaticity-based normalization.

Potential Impact

LumiTox aims to provide a portable, rapid, and cost-effective approach for preliminary water-toxicity screening.

Rather than replacing laboratory testing, the proposed system could serve as an initial screening tool to identify samples that may require more detailed analysis.

The project brings together environmental biotechnology + biosensing + smartphone technology + image processing to address a real-world water-quality challenge.

Built With

• analysis
• bioengineering
• bioluminescence
• biosensing
• biosensor
• chromaticity
• imaging
• monitoring
• normalization
• optical
• portable
• processing
• quality
• rgb
• screening
• sensing
• smartphone
• sustainable
• toxicity
• water