London, Nov 14 (PTI) A simple colour-changing test torapidly detect fluoride in drinking water may help preventskeletal fluorosis, a crippling bone disease, in developingcountries such as India, scientists said today.
While low amounts of fluoride are beneficial for healthyteeth, high levels of fluoride can weaken bones, leading toskeletal fluorosis, said researchers at the University ofBath in the UK.
This disease causes crippling deformities of the spineand joints, especially in children whose skeletons are stillforming, they said.
When water passes over certain minerals, it can dissolvefluoride, which results in elevated levels of fluoride indrinking water sources in parts of India, East Africa, Chinaand North America.
Levels of fluoride in drinking water are routinelymonitored and controlled at treatment works in developedcountries.
However, in areas where there is no piped water system ortreatment works, people rely on drawing untreated water fromwells, which can often be contaminated with higher thanrecommended levels of fluoride.
The amounts of fluoride in the groundwater can vary dueto weather events, with levels fluctuating hugely when thereis a lot of rain.
A research team led by Simon Lewis from the University ofBath has developed a simple colour-changing test that detectshigh levels of fluoride quickly and selectively.
While the test is at the proof of concept stage, the teamaims to develop it into a disposable test strip that is lowcost and easy to use by anyone.
"Whilst a small amount of fluoride is good for your teethand prevents tooth decay, high levels are toxic and can causecrippling deformities that are irreversible," Lewis said.
"Most water quality monitoring systems need a lab andpower supply and a trained operator to work them. What wehave developed is a molecule that simply changes colour in afew minutes which can tell you whether the level of fluorideis too high," said Lewis.
"We would like to develop this technology into teststrips, similar to litmus paper, that allow people withoutany scientific training to perform a test that is low cost,rapid and robust.
"We anticipate that in the future it could make a realdifference to people's lives," said Lewis. PTI SARSAR.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.