The overabundance of nutrients such as phosphate in aqueous systems, known as eutrophication, is a leading cause of algae blooms and water pollution. Drawbacks of current methodology for detecting phosphate are cost, inability to be conducted in the field, usage of noxious chemicals and focusing on a test for chemically free rather than biologically active phosphate. The goal of the project was to create an affordable, sustainable and mobile bioanalytical sensor for biophospate utilizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) growth. This growth, shown through its optical density at saturation and rate of CO2 production, would determine the amount of bioavailable phosphate in an aqueous system. The first step towards the production of this sensor was an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the readily tested Dissolved Reactive Phosphate (DRP) and bioavailable phosphate, as well as how varying methods of storage and sterilization would affect these two quantities. To determine DRP in environmental samples, the molybdenum blue method, which relies on a colorimetric reaction and subsequent analysis, was used. To determine bioavailable phosphate, optical densities of S. cerevisiae at saturation were compared. Tests conducted gave the unexpected result that bioavailable phosphate levels were lower than the DRP in the same sample. Future work is to calibrate the instrument itself and conduct a more in depth study of factors that separate DRP and bioavailable phosphate.

Distinguishing between dissolved reactive phosphate and bioavailable phosphate for the development of a biophosphate sensor

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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