IIT Roorkee: Researchers Developed a Reliable Biosensor To Detect Environmental Pollutants

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has developed the first-ever reliable bacterial biosensor to detect the presence of “Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS),” a common environmental pollutant. Read full story.

The team of 5 researchers of IIT Roorkee used Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) strain structure to develop a whole-cell biosensor. The framework consists of a specific regulator in addition to a fluorescent protein that is produced when a sample has an SDS component.

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Earlier, a sample having high precision of SDS was not easily detectable due to the absence of specific biosensors. However, the biosensor developed by IIT Roorkee researchers can even detect SDS in aquatic samples of 0.1 ppm.

Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) are broadly present in creams, toothpaste, detergents, soaps, agricultural operations, industries, and laboratories. The extensive disposal of SDS in waterways has worsened the drinking water’s quality and has highly affected aquatic organisms.

The definitive biosensor developed at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee can positively monitor SDS presence in the environment. It has also shown an adequate and reproducible recovery rate to detect SDS in sewage, pond, and river water samples. 

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Naveen Kumar Navani, Professor at IIT Roorkee stated that unlike conventional methods, the newly developed biosensor has many properties. Some properties of the newly developed biosensor is as follows: 

• It can easily differentiate between closely related detergents-SDS and SodiumDodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS).
• Sensitive to even minute quantities of SDS in the environment.
• Highly specific for SDS that has minimal interference from other detergents, metals, and inorganic ions present in the environment.
• Selected Pseudomonads can easily detect the chemicals which have become resilient to survive and adapt the harsh environmental conditions.

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Sourik Dey, the Lead author of the Biosensor study said, “The highlight of this research is the development of the world’s first whole-cell bacterial biosensor for the direct, specific and efficient detection of SDS without involving sample preparation steps, toxic chemicals, sophisticated polymers, and sensor development steps.”

He further added that Pseudomonads have an inherent capability to be used as an optimal destination framework for synthetic biology applications.

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