SmartAQAlab - Development of a semi-automated support system for the multi-parametric analysis of drinking and process water

Drinking water is not only the most important foodstuff by far, but also the only one that is provided to every consumer via a service connection and can be enjoyed directly from the tap. For this reason, food safety must be ensured through regular monitoring of quality and indicator parameters, which are laid down in the German Drinking Water Ordinance and numerous other regulations. As a result, large numbers of samples are taken every day in all regions, which are analyzed by specialized local laboratories or by the water suppliers themselves. For quality assessment, chemical and biological parameters are determined and appropriate countermeasures are prescribed if limits are exceeded. The heterogeneity of the parameters to be determined results in a wide variety of methods for the comprehensive analysis of water samples, which in the past was addressed by dividing the laboratories into individual departments with specialized personnel. However, due to the ongoing shortage of qualified personnel, laboratory staff are increasingly required to be proficient in more and more cross-parameter methods. Despite the high number of samples and the large number of parameters to be analyzed, manual analysis is still the state of the art, with only a few automated methods available.

The aim of the project is therefore to develop a partially automated support system for the multi-parametric analysis of drinking and process water samples in accordance with the innovation strategy of the Free State of Saxony. The subsequent marketing and distribution of the complete system or individual components is aimed at by the participating medium-sized companies as a novel product.

The system is to record both biological and chemical indicator parameters and make them available in a database together with all the corresponding meta-information. In this system, the laboratory technician is not replaced by a fully automated system, but is guided through all test steps by a consistently digitized, machine-supported process (assistive automation). The system is to be scalable to the individual needs of individual laboratories by means of a modular hardware and software architecture, both in terms of functional scope and sample throughput.

Illustration smartAQAlab zur Bestimmung von biologischen und chemischen Parametern in der Trink- und Prozesswasseranalytik.

The project aims to develop methods for the optical detection and differentiation of different biological parameters, which will allow a comprehensive characterization of the bacterial load of the sample. Furthermore, a procedure for the automated concentration of the bacterial components in the liquid sample matrix will be developed and established, which for the first time will allow the complete automation of microbial water analysis. In addition, the use of disposable products will be significantly reduced by means of a suitable cleaning strategy, thus making an important contribution to environmental protection.