Whole-cell electric sensor for determination of sodium dodecyl sulfate

Abstract

Linear alkyl sulfates are a major class of surfactants that have large-scale industrial application and thus wide environmental release. These organic pollutants threaten aquatic environments and other environmental compartments. We show the promise of the use of a whole-cell electric sensor in the analysis of low or residual concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solutions. On the basis of bioinformatic analysis and alkylsulfatase activity determinations, we chose the gram-negative bacterium Herbaspirillum lusitanum , strain P6–12, as the sensing element. Strain P6–12 could utilize 0.01–400 mg/L of SDS as a growth substrate. The electric polarizability of cell suspensions changed at all frequencies used (50–3000 kHz). The determination limit of 0.01 mg/L is much lower than the official requirements for the content of SDS in potable and process water (0.5 and 1.0 mg/L, respectively), and the analysis takes about 1–5 min. The promise of H. lusitanum P6–12 for use in the remediation of SDS-polluted soils is discussed. Graphical abstract

Use of Azospirillum baldaniorum cells in quercetin detection

“…A promising approach to detecting various compounds can be one that is based on the analysis of microbial cell responses. For example, Velichko et al [21] showed that a decrease in the polarizability tensor γ of Herbaspirillum lusitanum cells is directly proportional to the content of sodium dodecyl sulfate in the medium in the range 0.01-2 mg/l. Microorganisms can be used as a simple and fast-sensing element in the determination of the flavonoid of interest.…”