IIT Delhi Research Team Develop Real-Time Bioelectrochemical Sensor for Rapid Water Quality Monitoring
The Electro microbiology Group at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi’s Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology developed a sensor known as “electroactive microorganisms” for real-time water quality monitoring using electricity-generating microorganisms. These microbes which are widely researched for power generation is now used to generate an electrical current and they can be also used for biosensing.
Specifically, the bio electrochemical sensor that was developed uses “weak electricigens”, a category of electroactive microbes that are known for generating low levels of electricity. The current output decreases when the weak electricigens encounter a pollutant. By measuring their extracellular current continuously, the approach facilitates real-time monitoring of water quality.
This newly developed technology could act as an early-warning system as the conventional monitoring methods are expensive and not amenable to 24/7 operation. The sensor responded successfully to a number of pesticides and thus it could be used repeatedly for long-term monitoring. This will help in monitoring water contamination in areas that are highly polluted.
In the future, such technology may also be useful for detecting emerging contaminants that are not typically covered in routine tests. Many natural environments appear to host weak electricigens, raising the possibility of future on-site sensors as well as easy incorporation into existing monitoring stations. The findings have relevance to the widespread adoption of water quality monitoring that will be required to meet the UN”s Sustainable Development Goal of sufficient water and sanitation by 2030.
The authors of the work were Dr. Kartik Aiyer (former Institute Postdoctoral Fellow), Ms. Debasa Mukherjee (Ph.D. scholar) and Prof. Lucinda Elizabeth Doyle (Assistant Professor) from the Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, IIT Delhi.
The research paper, titled “A Weak Electricigen-Based Bioelectrochemical Sensor for Real-Time Monitoring of Chemical Pollutants in Water”, was published in ACS Applied Bio Materials (published by the American Chemical Society).
