Feasibility of using biosensors for heavy metal detection in complex matrices such as bio-slurries

Abstract

The quality of bioslurries that are used in industrial production and agriculture need to be watched very closely to avoid spreading of contaminants on area and poisoning of humans and animals. Because heavy metals are very stable and toxic in many chemical compositions, their amount should be estimated very thoroughly. A new approach that involved biosensors was tested in this study. Because the slurries are complex non-unified matrices which composed of two phases – solid and liquid, the cell behavior can varies a lot from the one that explained in water and so the estimation of ion concentration can be not reliable. It was shown that the cell actually behave different in the slurries. Normally the dissolved compounds suppress the biosensor activity and, in the same time, the ions in the particles can released during the tests and interfere with the signal. So the concentration and the pretreatment of the samples should be chosen for every particular biosensor. Additionally, there was an attempt to measure the heavy metal amount and to compare it with the results that were obtained on AAS. The data declares that the bioavailability may differ in the matrices and so the signals of biosensors vary even between the samples with the same total heavy metal amount.