ESU researcher investigating new water testing system

Dr. Jeremy Mitchell-Koch (left) and Boonhuat Chee review data during water testing procedures.

Dr. Jeremy Mitchell-Koch knew his research was on target when recent media reports documented the presence of pharmaceuticals in water supplies across the country. Now, the Emporia State University chemist is hoping to develop a simple testing device that government agencies can use to economically determine the concentration of drugs in the water we drink.

“It’s pretty gratifying in a lot of ways to see an idea that I’ve had for a long time becoming an issue,” said Mitchell-Koch, assistant professor of physical sciences. “It makes me feel like I’m working on an important problem.”

Funded by an ESU Faculty Research and Creativity Award, Mitchell-Koch’s research centers on developing a sensing probe that can detect the presence of different types of pharmaceuticals in drinking water. “Our overall goal is to provide a simple tool for measurement so that it’s easier to test and easier to study whether a low residual dose of some pharmaceutical is really causing any problems,” he explained.

With the help of Boonhuat Chee, first-year masters in physical science (chemistry concentration) graduate student and 2007 ESU biochemistry and molecular biology graduate, Mitchell-Koch wants to develop a sensing device that when dipped in water can detect the presence of pharmaceuticals.

Mitchell-Koch is working with conducting polymers coated onto interdigitated electrodes. “Think of the fingers of both hands meshed together, but not touching,” Mitchell-Koch offers, explaining that the device’s polymer coating would register different conductivity values when it detects a target substance such as a pharmaceutical in the water. The electrode’s design would allow only the class of compounds associated with the medication to cause a meter reading.

While the technology to measure pharmaceuticals under a controlled laboratory setting is available, detecting the presence of many of these compounds is difficult, due to the naturally-occurring minerals in regular drinking water. “I’m hoping some of the ideas I’m working on will improve the selectivity of the testing devices currently available,” Mitchell-Koch says.

Mitchell-Koch thinks the jury is still out on the question of drinking water and its potential contamination as the public consumes more pharmaceuticals. “If people across town take a medication, some of that substance is absorbed by their bodies. But some is excreted into the water system. We can’t answer the question of whether long-term exposure to these compounds is a problem until we have simple measurement techniques that are more affordable to municipalities,” he says.

And he doesn’t buy into the fears that were fanned by a recent Associated Press investigation into the presence of drugs in drinking water. “If you were to ask me that question, I’d say turn on your tap. You can have an argument in terms of whether bottled water is safer and more pure than tap water, but I believe tap water is the way to go,” Mitchell-Koch said, pointing to the environmental impact of bottled water in terms of packaging and shipping.

Mitchell-Koch’s research illustrates a typical stumbling block—funding. “Applying for funding usually requires that you have some preliminary data to back up your research,” said Mitchell-Koch. “This type of grant (the Faculty Research and Creativity Award) provides a little bit of seed money to get some of those initial results that reinforce the feasibility of additional investigation.”

Mitchell-Koch hopes the preliminary data his study generates will lead to funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health or National Science Foundation to eventually develop the simple, accurate measuring technique he envisions municipalities being able to use in the future.

Mitchell-Koch came to Emporia State in 2005. He conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Michigan for two years after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. 

At ESU, Mitchell-Koch likes the focus of teaching students how to go about conducting a research project.

“While the ultimate goal of this project is to disseminate information and create new devices for water safety testing, my biggest goal is to help train students to be able to think about a research problem,” said Mitchell-Koch. “What’s most important is that my students learn the process and that they have the opportunity to do this kind of cutting-edge research.”

Last Updated April 2, 2008>