Amassing of toxic pollutants such as chlorophenol, catechol, phenol, benzene etc. in various bodies of water due to the over-usage and mishandling of raw materials is alarming and it adversely affects the sustainability of the environment. Such xenobiotics released as byproducts from dye, petroleum, gasoline industries very often contaminate not only the ecosystem of the river, lake but also the groundwater sources causing a potential threat to human health. The urgent need of aromatic pollutant tracking methods in the domain of water & sensor research has been addressed by us through the design of an in-vitro, protein-based biosensor targeted to detect aromatic contaminants such as phenol (with a significant LOD of 10 ppb). The direct, label-free sensor is calibrated in combination with a hand-held device-based prototype for the on-site application and real-time usage. The research demonstrated herein overcomes the complicated sample handling methods associated with the traditional mass spectrometry, gas chromatography like analyte detection strategies. Furthermore, the biosensor has also been translated to a nanoparticle coated immobilized platform and strip version of phenol biosensor has been fabricated. The underneath mechanism of the biosensor uses the biochemistry of the transcriptional regulator protein MopR and is remarkably specific for the targeted analyte with a very negligible background from the related compounds in both real environmental samples and simulated pollutant samples. The biosensor is one of the most efficient platforms for targeted on-site detection of aromatic contaminants reported in the sphere of protein based in-vitro biosensors.

Protein based biosensor for the ultrasensitive detection of aromatic pollutants and fabrication of field prototype device

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.