Immobilized luminescent cell-based flow through monitoring of environmental pollutants

A new sensing system based on the immobilization of luminescent bacteria, photobacterium phosphoreum, was proposed for continuous real-time monitoring of pollutants. The response curves demonstrate that Photobacterium phosphoreum immobilized on the strontium alginate were very sensitive to seven reference chemicals used. The significant inhibitory concentrations for bioluminescence emission were 5 ppm for Pb(NO3)2, NiCl2, CdCl2, 50 ppm for NaASO2, 0.1 ppm for HgCl2, 0.5 ppm for pentachlorophenol and less than 5 ppm for SDS, respectively. The alginate mixed-cells (AMC) retained their luminescence during experimental period (29 days) under storage condition of -80°C. The variables affecting performance of continuous flow through monitoring (CFTM) was optimized in order to ensure stability and efficiency. The flow through cell with strontium-alginate immobilized luminescent bacteria was tested with salicylate and 4-nitrophenol. A rapid response of luminescence was recorded by time drive mode in bioluminescence spectrometer after exposure to both toxicants.