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Biosensor for Landmine Detection

December 17, 2018

Oxygen measurements with OXY-1 ST support sensor development

Scientists from the Leibniz University Hanover and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem published their work on the development of a biosensor that can detect decomposition products of buried explosives this August. They used the OXY-1 ST measurement system to determine basic parameters for proper biosensor functioning.

Buried explosives, like landmines are not only a serious threat to human and animal safety, they additionally consist of environmentally hazardous compounds. It is extremely important to detect and remove TNT from nature. Christian Ude and his colleagues now published a paper on the development of a biosensor for detecting 2,4-Dinitrotoluene (DNT), a decomposition product of TNT ('A portable biosensor for 2,4-Dinitrotoluene vapors', Sensors (2018), 18, 4247). The biosensor is based on a genetically modified E. coli strain that emits bioluminescence when exposed to DNT. OXY-1 ST was used to determine how dissolved oxygen influences the bioluminescence response of the bacteria. In a second experiment, the oxygen measurement system also assisted in finding the right thickness of agarose gel for bacteria immobilization. The researchers used these findings to construct sensor prototypes that successfully detected low concentrations of DNT.

Read the publication abstract or get the whole publication here.


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