Biparametric potentiometric analytical microsystem for nitrate and potassium monitoring in water recycling processes for manned space missions

• Life support system for human spaceflight missions.
• On-line chemical sensing in water recycling processes.
• Microfluidic platforms for simultaneous potentiometric determination of nitrate and potassium ions based on the LTCC technology.
• Samples of the Antarctic Concordia station pretreatment plant.

The construction and evaluation of a Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC)-based continuous flow potentiometric microanalyzer prototype to simultaneously monitor the presence of two ions (potassium and nitrate) in samples from the water recycling process for future manned space missions is presented. The microsystem integrates microfluidics and the detection system in a single substrate and it is smaller than a credit card. The detection system is based on two ion-selective electrodes (ISEs), which are built using all-solid state nitrate and potassium polymeric membranes, and a screen-printed Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The obtained analytical features after the optimization of the microfluidic design and hydrodynamics are a linear range from 10 to 1000 mg L−1 and from 1.9 to 155 mg L−1 and a detection limit of 9.56 mg L−1 and 0.81 mg L−1 for nitrate and potassium ions respectively.

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