Children who are exposed to lead may have extensive health problems, in particular intelligence deficits and developmental delays. Wide-reaching screening programs are essential to identify children in need of remediation and medical intervention. Lead exposure is most problematic in low- and middle-income countries, as well as in underserved populations in wealthier regions of the world. To increase accessibility, it is critical that screening tools are inexpensive, portable, and easy to use. We are developing a low-cost sample-to answer approach to detect lead in a droplet of whole blood with a limit of detection that exceeds the CDC blood lead reference value.
Peer-reviewed publications:
Rachel L. Warren, Ian M. White, and Wei W. Yu, High-Sensitivity Electrochemical Assay for Quantifying Blood Lead using Hydrochloric Acid and Bismuth, Microchemical Journal, 228, 119201, 2026. DOI:10.1016/j.microc.2026.119201.
Rachel L. Warren,* Alexander R. Pueschel,* Wei W. Yu, and Ian M. White, Sample-to-answer point-of-care blood lead level test, Biosensors, 16, 393, 2026. DOI:10.3390/bios16070393. (*equal contribution)