Development of photocatalytic biosensor for the evaluation of biochemical oxygen demand

An optical BOD biosensor based on intracellular ATP measurements in genetically modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A biosensor for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was developed based on intracellular 5'-adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measurements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Intracellular ATP was measured using an engineered protein named ATeam, comprising a bacterial F0F1-ATP synthase ε subunit sandwiched between cyan fluorescent protein and mVenus, a modified yellow fluorescent protein. Because the binding of ATP to ATeam induces changes in the fluorescence spectra owing to Fӧrster resonance energy transfer, S. cerevisiae expressing ATeam is expected to show spectral changes owing to the intracellular ATP produced by the metabolism of the BOD sample. A glycogen phosphorylase knockout S. cerevisiae strain expressing ATeam was prepared, and the fluorescence spectra of the strain were analyzed. Changes in the fluorescence spectra of glucose in the medium were observed, which exhibited a linear relationship with the glucose concentration (0-100 mg/L, R2 = 0.970). Responses to lactose, fructose, sucrose, Glu, Asp, His, and Gly were evaluated and compared with typical BOD measurements. The results of this comparison suggest that a BOD biosensor based on intracellular ATP can be used for BOD measurements. A BOD standard solution comprising glucose and glutamic acid (GGA) was calibrated across a concentration range of 0 to 100 mg/L. Finally, simulated real samples were prepared using real pond water and GGA was measured. The correlation between the BOD value evaluated using intracellular ATP and that evaluated using the 5-day BOD test showed a linear relationship with R2 = 0.944.

Sustainable approaches towards green synthesis of TiO2 nanomaterials and their applications in photo-catalysis mediated sensingtomonitor environmental pollutions

Nanomaterials are gaining enormous interests owing to their novel applications that have been explored nearly in every field of our contemporary society. In this scenario, preparations of nanomaterials following green routes have attracted widespread attention in terms of sustainable, reliable and environmentally friendly practice to produce diverse nanostructures. In this review, we summarized the fundamental processes and mechanisms of green synthesis approaches of TiO₂ NPs. We explore the role of plants and microbes as natural bioresources to prepare TiO₂ NPs. Particularly, focused have been made to explore the potential of TiO₂ based nanomaterials to design variety of sensing platforms by exploiting the photo-catalysis efficiency under the influence of light source. Such types of sensing can of massive importance to monitor the environmental pollutions and thereby to invent advanced strategies to remediate hazardous pollutants to offer clean environment.

Highly selective and sensitive detection of glutamate by an electrochemical aptasensor

An electrochemical aptamer-based sensor was developed for glutamate, the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Determining glutamic acid release and glutamic acid levels is crucial for studying signal transmission and for diagnosing pathological conditions in the brain. Glutamic acid-selective oligonucleotides were isolated from an ssDNA library using the Capture-SELEX protocol in complex medium. The selection permitted the isolation of an aptamer 1d04 with a dissociation constant of 12 µM. The aptamer sequence was further used in the development of an electrochemical aptamer sensor. For this purpose, a truncated aptamer sequence named glu1 was labelled with a ferrocene redox tag at the 3'-end and immobilized on a gold electrode surface via Au-thiol bonds. Using 6-mercapto-1-hexanol as the backfill, the sensor performance was characterized by alternating current voltammetry. The glu1 aptasensor showed a limit of detection of 0.0013 pM, a wide detection range between 0.01 pM and 1 nM, and good selectivity for glutamate in tenfold diluted human serum. With this enzyme-free aptasensor, the highly selective and sensitive detection of glutamate was demonstrated, which possesses great potential for implementation in microelectrodes and for in vitro as well as in vivo monitoring of neurotransmitter release.

A Current Sensing Biosensor for BOD Rapid Measurement

In order to improve the practicality of the rapid biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) method, a highly sensitive rapid detection method for BOD that is based on establishing the correlation between current and dissolved oxygen (DO) was developed. In this experiment, Bacillus subtilis was used as the test microorganism, and the embedding method was used to achieve quantitative fixation of microorganisms, which could increase the content of microorganisms and prolong the service life of the biological element. The conductivity (COND) probe is used as a sensing element, so that the testing value can be read every second. In the program, the moving average method is used to process the collected data so that the value can be read every minute. National standard samples were detected to test the accuracy and stability of the method. The results showed that relative error and analytical standard deviations were less than 5%. Different polluted water was tested to evaluate its application range. The results showed that relative error was less than 5%. The results of the method are consistent with the results of the wastewater sample obtained by the BOD₅ standard method. The proposed rapid BOD current sensing biosensor method should be promising in practical application of wastewater monitoring.

Toxicity assessment using different bioassays and microbial biosensors

Toxicity assessment of water streams, wastewater, and contaminated sediments, is a very important part of environmental pollution monitoring. Evaluation of biological effects using a rapid, sensitive and cost effective method can indicate specific information on ecotoxicity assessment. Recently, different biological assays for toxicity assessment based on higher and lower organisms such as fish, invertebrates, plants and algal cells, and microbial bioassays have been used. This review focuses on microbial biosensors as an analytical device for environmental, food, and biomedical applications. Different techniques which are commonly used in microbial biosensing include amperometry, potentiometry, conductometry, voltammetry, microbial fuel cells, fluorescence, bioluminescence, and colorimetry. Examples of the use of different microbial biosensors in assessing a variety of environments are summarized.

Bioelectricity generation in an integrated system combining microbial fuel cell and tubular membrane reactor: effects of operation parameters performing a microbial fuel cell-based biosensor for tubular membrane bioreactor

A bio-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) with tubular membrane was integrated to construct a microbial fuel cell-tubular membrane bioreactor (MFC-TMBR) system, in which the bio-cathode MFC was developed as a biosensor for COD real-time monitoring in TMBR and the performance was analyzed in terms of its current variation caused by operation parameters. With a constant anode potential, the effect of HRT demonstrated that higher rate of mass transport increased the response of the system. The system was further explored an inverse relationship between TMP and current peak by using EPS concentration under the different MLSS concentration. The sensor output had a linear relationship with COD up to 1000mg/L (regression coefficient, R(2)=0.97) and MLSS (regression coefficient, R(2)=0.94). The simple and compact bio-cathode MFC biosensor for TMBR using MFC-TMBR integrated system showed promising potential for direct and economical COD online monitoring, and provided an opportunity to widen the application of MFC-based biosensor.

Methods for assessing biochemical oxygen demand (BOD): a review

The Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is one of the most widely used criteria for water quality assessment. It provides information about the ready biodegradable fraction of the organic load in water. However, this analytical method is time-consuming (generally 5 days, BOD5), and the results may vary according to the laboratory (20%), primarily due to fluctuations in the microbial diversity of the inoculum used. Work performed during the two last decades has resulted in several technologies that are less time-consuming and more reliable. This review is devoted to the analysis of the technical features of the principal methods described in the literature in order to compare their performances (measuring window, reliability, robustness) and to identify the pros and the cons of each method.

Novel environmental analytical system based on combined biodegradation and photoelectrocatalytic detection principles for rapid determination of organic pollutants in wastewaters

This work describes the development of a novel biofilm reactor-photoelectrocatalytic chemical oxygen demand (BFR-PeCOD) analytical system for rapid online determination of biodegradable organic matters (BOMs). A novel air bubble sample delivery approach was developed to dramatically enhance the BFR's biodegradation efficiency and extend analytical linear range. Because the air bubble sample delivery invalidates the BOD quantification via the determination of oxygen consumption using dissolved oxygen probe, the PeCOD technique was innovatively utilized to resolve the BOD quantification issue under air bubble sample delivery conditions. The BFR was employed to effectively and efficiently biodegrade organic pollutants under oxygen-rich environment provided by the air bubbles. The BOD quantification was achieved by measuring the COD change (Δ[COD]) of the original sample and the effluent from BFR using PeCOD technique. The measured Δ[COD] was found to be directly proportional to the BOD5 values of the original sample with a slope independent of types and concentrations of organics. The slope was used to convert Δ[COD] to BOD5. The demonstrated analytical performance by BFR-PeCOD system surpasses all reported systems in many aspects. It has demonstrated ability to near real-time, online determining the organic pollution levels of wide range wastewaters without the need for dilution and ongoing calibration. The system possesses the widest analytical liner range (up to 800 mg O2 L(-1)) for BOD analysis, superior long-term stability, high accuracy, reliability, and simplicity. It is an environmentally friendly analytical system that consumes little reagent and requires minimal operational maintenance.

Enhanced photocatalytic performance at a Au/N–TiO2hollow nanowire array by a combination of light scattering and reduced recombination

Maximizing the Au nanoparticle decoration on TiO₂nanowire through nitrogen doping for simultaneous enhancement in visible light scattering and electron–hole charge separation.

A reagent-free tubular biofilm reactor for on-line determination of biochemical oxygen demand

We reported a reagent-free tubular biofilm reactor (BFR) based analytical system for rapid online biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) determination. The BFR was cultivated using microbial seeds from activated sludge. It only needs tap water to operate and does not require any chemical reagent. The analytical performance of this reagent-free BFR system was found to be equal to or better than the BFR system operated using phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and high purity deionized water. The system can readily achieve a limit of detection of 0.25 mg O2 L(-1), possessing superior reproducibility, and long-term operational and storage stability. More importantly, we confirmed for the first time that the BFR system is capable of tolerating common toxicants found in wastewaters, such as 3,5-dichlorophenol and Zn(II), Cr(VI), Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II), Mn(II) and Ni(II), enabling the method to be applied to a wide range of wastewaters. The sloughing and clogging are the important attributes affecting the operational stability, hence, the reliability of most online wastewater monitoring systems, which can be effectively avoided, benefiting from the tubular geometry of the reactor and high flow rate conditions. These advantages, coupled with simplicity in device, convenience in operation and minimal maintenance, make such a reagent-free BFR analytical system promising for practical BOD online determination.

A biofilm reactor-based approach for rapid on-line determination of biodegradable organic pollutants

A new analytical approach utilizing a biofilm reactor (BFR) for rapid online determination of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was proposed and experimentally validated. The BFR was fabricated via a cultivation process using naturally occurring microbial seeds from locally collected wastewaters. The resultant BFR displays a remarkable rate of biodegradation towards a wide spectrum of organic substrates, capable of degrading over 20% of biodegradable organic substrates within 100 s. More importantly, the BFR exhibits a superior indiscriminative biodegradation feature, enabling a precise prediction of BOD values of total biodegradable organics based on experimentally determined BOD values from partial degradation processes without a need for on-going calibration. The proposed approach was systematically validated using a range of individual organic substrates, their mixtures, synthetic samples and wastewaters. Highly significant linear correlations between the BFR and the standard BOD(5) methods were obtained from diversified synthetic samples (r=0.988, p=0.000, n=45) and wastewaters (r=0.983, p=0.000, n=40). Near unity slope values of the principal axis of the correlation ellipse were obtained from all tested samples, suggesting both methods were essentially measuring the same BOD value. The reported method could be a useful online monitoring tool for determination of biodegradable organic pollutants.

Applications of microbial cell sensors

Since the first microbial cell sensor was studied by Karube et al. in 1977, many types of microbial cell sensors have been developed as analytical tools. The microbial cell sensor utilizes microbes as a sensing element and a transducer. The characteristics of microbial cell sensors as sensing devices are a complete contrast to those of enzyme sensors or immunosensors, which are highly specific for the substrates of interest, although the specificity of the microbial cell sensor has been improved by genetic modification of the microbe used as the sensing element. Microbial cell sensors have the advantages of tolerance to measuring conditions, a long lifetime, and good cost performance, and have the disadvantage of a long response time. In this review, applications of microbial cell sensors are summarized.

Comparisons of Vibrio fischeri, Photobacterium phosphoreum, and recombinant luminescent using Escherichia coli as BOD measurement

To shorten the time needed to measure biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in water samples and to provide a rapid feedback of the real condition of water quality, we tested and evaluated the validity and reliability of luminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri, Photobacterium phosphoreum, and recombinant Escherichia coli as potential indicators of BOD in the domestic wastewaters. The results indicate that the luminescence intensities of these strains are dependent on temperature, pH, and BOD concentration. In comparison to the standard BOD(5) method, the time needed for BOD measurement can be shortened by 90, 120, and 150 min when V. fischeri, P. phosphoreum, and recombinant E. coli, respectively, are used. Recombinant E. coli can be adapted to measure BOD in domestic wastewater containing a wide range of BOD concentrations, V. fischeri is not suitable for measuring diluted wastewater, and P. phosphoreum has only a limited application in measuring concentrated wastewater. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in which V. fischeri, P. phosphoreum, and recombinant luminescent E. coli are compared in terms of their potential in BOD measurement systems.

Preparation of biofilm electrode with Xanthomonas sp. and carbon nanotubes and the application to rapid biochemical oxygen demand analysis in high-salt condition

A Xanthomonas sp. was isolated from the sludge on the drain outlet of a pharmaceutical factory. Then, the bacterium and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were co-attached to an oxygen electrode for rapid analysis of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The response current was linear with BOD values in the range 10 to 300 mg/L for standard BOD solution with a response time of 35 seconds (R = 0.9994) and 20 to 580 mg/L for pharmaceutical wastewater with a response time < or =200 seconds (R = 0.9985), which means that this modified electrode might be used for online BOD analysis of pharmaceutical wastewater. Further studies revealed that the modified electrode can be used for BOD measurement in a high-salt condition. Also, the bacterium/CNTs biofilm can maintain its activity and good performance, even after being sealed and stored at 4 degrees C for 50 days.

Development of microbial sensors and their application

Many types of microbial sensors have been developed as analytical tools since the first microbial sensor was studied by Karube et al. in 1977. The microbial sensor consists of a transducer and microbe as a sensing element. The characteristics of the microbial sensors are a complete contrast to those of enzyme sensors or immunosensors, which are highly specific for the substrates of interest, although the specificity of the microbial sensor has been improved by genetic modification of the microbe used as the sensing element. Microbial sensors have the advantages of tolerance to measuring conditions, a long lifetime, and cost performance, and also have the disadvantage of a long response time. In this review, the long history of microbial sensor development is summarized.

A spectrophotometric biochemical oxygen demand determination method using 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol as the redox color indicator and the eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A method to determine the spectrophotometric biochemical oxygen demand (BOD(sp)) was studied with high sensitivity and reproducibility by employing 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol (DCIP) as a redox color indicator, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and a temperature-controlling system providing a three-consecutive-stir unit. The absorbance of DCIP decreased due to the metabolism of organic substances in aqueous samples by S. cerevisiae. Under optimum conditions, a calibration curve for glucose glutamic acid concentration between 1.1 and 22mg O(2) L(-1) (r=0.988, six points, n=3) was obtained when the incubation mixture was incubated for 10min at 30 degrees C. The reproducibility of the optical responses in the calibration curve was 1.77% (average of relative standard deviations; RSD(av)). Subsequently, the characterization of this method was studied. The optical responses to pure organic substances and the influence of chloride ions, artificial seawater, and heavy metal ions on the sensor response were investigated before use with real samples. Measurements of real samples using river water were performed and compared with those obtained using the BOD(5) method. Finally, stable responses were obtained for 36 days when the yeast cell suspension was stored at 4 degrees C (response reduction, 89%; RSD(av) value for 9 testing days, 8.4%).

Stopped-flow system with ozonizer for the estimation of low biochemical oxygen demand in environmental samples

The stopped-flow system with an ozonizer was developed to estimate low biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in rivers. Rivers contain many biopersistent organic compounds such as humic acid, lignin, and gum arabic. Free radicals generated by self-decomposition of ozone were used as powerful oxidants to split organic compounds. Ozonysis of the samples was carried out by 42.4 gN(-1)m(-3) ozone for 3 min at pH 7.0. Artificial wastewater (AWW) solutions were employed as standard solutions for the calibrations of the BOD sensor. At a BOD of 1 mgl(-1), the sensor response after ozonation was 1.6-fold higher than that before ozonation. The response time of the BOD sensor was only 5min, being independent of the concentrations, and the lower detection limit was 0.5 mgl(-1) BOD. The degradations of lignin and tannic acid by ozonation were 54.1 and 42.3%, respectively. In the biosensor responses by ozonation, lignin, gum arabic, and surfactant increased by double or more compared with previous responses. BOD in rivers was estimated using the stopped-flow system. Environmental samples pretreated with ozone gave high responses to the biosensor that were similar to those of the conventional BOD(5) method. Accordingly, a good correlation between the sensor and the conventional BOD(5) was obtained (r=0.989). The system has to evolve the highly sensitive BOD determination.

A set up of a modern analytical laboratory for wastewaters from pulp and paper industry

The introduction of analytical techniques allowing rapid, selective, sensitive, and reliable determination of aqueous pollutants is of crucial importance for the protection of the environment. This critical review summarizes the advanced analytical techniques suggested over the last ten years together with already established methods, and evaluates whether they are fit for wastewater quality assessment considering the area of application, interferences, limit of detection, calibration function, and precision. The key parameters of wastewater quality assessment are: total organic carbon (TOC), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), organochlorines (AOX), nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and toxicity. Chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, photocatalytic oxidation with semiconductor nanofilms and atomic emission spectrometry, optical fibre sensors and chemiluminescence, amperometric mediated biosensors and microbial fuel cells, respirometry and bioluminescence measurements are just part of the proposed wastewater analyst's toolkit. The diversity of fundamental phenomena and the captivating elegance of interdisciplinary applications involved in the development of wastewater analytical techniques should attract the interest of a wide scientific audience including analytical chemists, chemical physicists, microbiologists and environmentalists. To conclude, we suggest a laboratory set up for the analysis of wastewaters from the pulp and paper industry.

Biosensors as useful tools for environmental analysis and monitoring

Recent advances in the development and application of biosensors for environmental analysis and monitoring are reviewed in this article. Several examples of biosensors developed for relevant environmental pollutants and parameters are briefly overviewed. Special attention is paid to the application of biosensors to real environmental samples, taking into consideration aspects such as sample pretreatment, matrix effects and validation of biosensor measurements. Current trends in biosensor development are also considered and commented on in this work. In this context, nanotechnology, miniaturisation, multi-sensor array development and, especially, biotechnology arise as fast-growing areas that will have a marked influence on the development of new biosensing strategies in the near future.

Microbial biosensors

A microbial biosensor is an analytical device that couples microorganisms with a transducer to enable rapid, accurate and sensitive detection of target analytes in fields as diverse as medicine, environmental monitoring, defense, food processing and safety. The earlier microbial biosensors used the respiratory and metabolic functions of the microorganisms to detect a substance that is either a substrate or an inhibitor of these processes. Recently, genetically engineered microorganisms based on fusing of the lux, gfp or lacZ gene reporters to an inducible gene promoter have been widely applied to assay toxicity and bioavailability. This paper reviews the recent trends in the development and application of microbial biosensors. Current advances and prospective future direction in developing microbial biosensor have also been discussed.