Chemical sensors for water potability assessment

The research on chemical sensors aims at developing low-cost and easy-to-handle devices for a multitude of purposes. This chapter reviews the recent advances in chemical sensors for potable water analysis. The working principles of the most diffused sensors are illustrated and discussed. The attention is focused on optical and electrochemical sensors, either operated alone or as element of multisensor and multitransduction systems. The performance of these sensors and sensor systems have been demonstrated in the detection of several pollutants in water, such as transition and heavy metals, algal toxins, herbicides, and pesticides among the others. Eventually, a critical outlook about the use of multisensor system as compared to selective sensors in natural samples is presented.