Immobilization of Photobacterium Phosphoreum for Monitoring of Toxic Substances

A new sensing system based on the immobilization of luminescent batcteria, Photobacterium phosphoreum, was proposed for continuous real-time monitoring of polluants. The response curves demonstrate that Photobacterium phosphoreum immobilized on the strontium alginate was very sensitive to seven reference chemicals used. The significant inhibitory concentrations for bioluminescence emission were 5 ppm for Pb(NO3)2, NiCl2, CdCl2, 50 ppm for NaAsO2, 0.1ppm for HgCl2, 0.5ppm for pentachlorophenol and less than 5ppm for SDS, respectively. The alginate mixed-cells (AMC) retained their luminescence during experimental period (29 days) under storage condition of -8$0^{\circ}C$. The variables affecting performance of continuous flow through monitoring (CFTM) were optimized in order to ensure stability and efficiency. The flow through cell with strontium-alginate immobilized luminescent bacteria was tested with salicylate and 4-nitrophenol and a rapid response of luminescence was recorded by time drive mode in bioluminescence spectrometer after exposure to both toxicants.