Keywords
Citation
(2003), "High-Precision Biosensor", Sensor Review, Vol. 23 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2003.08723dab.004
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
High-Precision Biosensor
High-Precision Biosensor
Keywords: Biosensors, Precision instruments
A group at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology has reported the development of a biosensor that can measure with very high-precision the presence of organic compounds in river-water samples. Researchers claim that their device is far more sensitive than conventional instruments in measuring such organic compounds as cellulose, lignin, and humic acid, which do not decompose easily and which can lead to fish-killing eutrophication of rivers downstream from active factory sites.
This new biosensor makes full usage of newly discovered microorganisms that have manifested great ability to decompose organic compounds. The microbes are sandwiched between two oxygen electrodes and the volume they consume while metabolizing provides a measure of the concentration of organic compounds in the water sample. The device can detect organic compounds in concentrations of as low as 0.1 ppm, said to be some 30 times more precise than comparable systems.