Posted by dmt210
24 January 2025Exeter researchers are working in collaboration with industrial partner Seneye to develop a commercial sensor which can precisely measure calcium in aquatic systems.
They have secured £35,000 of funding for a nine-month collaboration starting 1st Dec 2024 from the University of Exeter’s Impact Accelerator Account Impact Co-Creation Award funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
There is a large gap in the aquaculture industry for an accurate, robust calcium sensor. Delivery of such a sensor could have substantial industry-wide impact, primarily through improvements in yield and farmed animal welfare, and through enabling evolution of a responsive and data-driven culture within water chemistry management. It could also enhance market uptake of closed-loop aquaculture systems.
Seneye specialises in the development of ultra-small, intelligent water monitoring devices that continuously test key, life-critical parameters in aquatic environments such as aquaculture production and rivers.
This project is being led by Dr Alexis Perry (Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry), working in collaboration with Dr Owaen Guppy (Postdoctoral Researcher in Organic Chemistry) and Prof. Rod Wilson, (Professor in Integrative Animal Physiology), University of Exeter.
Having identified a promising sensor for detecting the presence of calcium through work initially supported by the UK Sustainable King Prawn Project, the Exeter University researchers are now collaborating with industry partner Seneye, to test its selectivity and sensitivity.
“Detecting calcium is particularly important for prawn aquaculture because these animals remove huge amounts of calcium from the water each time they moult, in order to re-harden their exoskeleton as they grow.”
Dr Owaen Guppy (Postdoctoral Researcher in Organic Chemistry)
In addition, the team are exploring alterations to the structure of the calcium sensor, to further explain and refine its selectivity. In doing this, they hope to discover other materials that may be suitable as a calcium sensor for general use.
“Our new collaboration with Seneye provides us with an exciting opportunity to move our cutting-edge sensor design out of the research lab, and potentially see it become embedded within Seneye’s market-leading technology.
In the future, we hope to continue the collaboration beyond development of a sensor for the aquaculture industry and towards environmental monitoring more generally. The ability to monitor pollutants in aquatic environments would be transformative for conservation and could be the most important outcome of all.”
Dr Alexis Perry (Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry)
The UK Sustainable King Prawn Project is a research and business impact project exploring the potential to create a new, sustainable and environmentally friendly king prawn farming sector in the UK. Using land-based aquaculture technologies (Recirculating Aquaculture Systems – RAS), it aims to embed renewable energy technologies and circular solutions at every stage. The project is funded by the £47.5 million Transforming the UK Food System (TUKFS) Programme (for Healthy People and a Healthy Environment) Strategic Priorities Fund.