Abstract
Working with primary-source freshwater drinking samples from the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers, we have developed a tissue-based biosensor detection system that uses naturally occurring aquatic photosynthetic tissue as the sensing material for detection of chemical antagonists in the water. Sensor readout is based on well-known principles of fluorescence induction by living photosynthetic tissue. The Clinch River is the main source of drinking water for Oak Ridge, Tennessee, while the Tennessee River is a major source for the city of Knoxville. We have successfully detected algae in every sample that we examined and readily monitored changes in the characteristic fluorescence induction curves when the samples were exposed to potassium cyanide (KCN), methyl parathion (MPt), N′(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N,N-dimethylurea (DCMU), and paraquat. The percentage decreases in photochemical yields observed in Tennessee River samples after a 24-min exposure to KCN, MPt, and DCMU were, respectively, 21.89±0.76, 3.28±0.18, and 14.77±1.81. For a site at the Clinch River, the percentage decreases were 22.78±1.63, 8.32±0.21, and 17.71±1.32 (Table 1). The unique aspect of this approach to real-time water quality monitoring is that unlike conventional sensing devices, this sensor material is external to the detecting instrument and is continuously refreshed. These biosensors may be used as continuous rapid-warning sentinels for detection of chemical warfare agents in sunlight-exposed drinking water supplies.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 843-849 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Biosensors and Bioelectronics |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2002 |
Funding
The authors thank Dr John W. Barton and Dr Brian H. Davison for their assistance with the methyl parathion experiments. We also thank Dr K. Thomas Klasson for designing spreadsheets for data analysis, Angela R. Jones and Patricia A. Wilson for secretarial support, and Dr Barton and Dr Marsha K. Savage for reviewing the manuscript. This research was supported by the Tissue-Based Biosensors Program, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, under MIPR No. 99-H250 with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It was also supported by the US Department of Energy. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.
Keywords
- Biosensor
- Chemical warfare
- DCMU
- Drinking water
- Fluorescence
- Freshwater
- Methyl parathion
- Paraquat
- Pesticides
- Photosynthesis
- Potassium cyanide