Detection of Arsenic in Soil and Water and Study of Its Biotransformation

Arsenic pollution has become one of the major concerns faced by todays rapidly modernizing and technology-savvy world, because it poses a serious health hazard and its persistence in soils and water has had detrimental effects on all forms of life. With the aim of Arsenic removal or its transformation to a less reactive and dangerous form, efforts are being made to detect the presence of this element in ground water and soils. This chapter illustrates the problems associated with arsenic biotransformation leading to environmental contamination and describes protocols for its detection in soils and water, via simple chemical means and also on the basis of modern molecular detection methods. Various biosensors that are able to suitably detect arsenic contamination in ground water has also been described. A special “Smartphone-Based “ optical device has been described for arsenic detection.