Stabilization of bioluminescence of immobilized Photobacterium phosphoreum and monitoring of environmental pollutants

Stability of bioluminescence was investigated with Photobacterium phosphoreum immobilized on the strontium alginate in order to develope continuous real time monitoring of pollutants. The stability of bioluminescence emission was improved by prolonged aging time. The aging time of ≥ 40 min and the cell concentration of ≤ 0.6 of OD660 were selected for the immobilization of P. phosphoreum to give linearity between cell concentrations and bioluminescence intensity. In sensitivity tests using phenol, it was found that this compound quenched bioluminescence proportional to the concentration without lowering of cell growth. The lower value for maximum quenching (qs) and higher dissociation constant (Ks) were observed with strontium-alginate immobilized cells compared to free cells. The response of bioluminescence to toxicants was evaluated with the immobilized luminescent bacteria. The sensitivity of the immobilized cells was found to be good in response to toxicants, 4-nitrophenol, salicylate and cadmium, when evaluated with a specific rate of bioluminescence quenching.