Creation of a fiber optic based biosensor for air toxicity monitoring

Most people spend a greater amount of time indoors rather than outdoors, so it follows that it's composition could directly affect occupants, thereby providing a new demand for sensors that will monitor indoor air pollution. In this paper, bioluminescent bacteria were used as bioreporters for the determination of air toxicity. Bacteria were immobilized in 96 well plates with matrices of different types and volumes, and exposed to a selection of model toxic compounds in air. TV1061 strain immobilized in alginate in wells of a microtiter plate showed the best response to a low concentration of chloroform (6.65 ppb), while US permission limits stands now at 50 ppm. This system was then adapted to the end face of a portable fiber optic biosensor, and we predict that one day it could be used as an air pollution alert system in an indoor environment. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.