Biosensors and Bioremediation as Biotechnological Tools for Environmental Monitoring and Protection

Abstract

Environmental biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for the protection and restoration of the quality of our environment. Biotechnological processes to protect the environment have been used for almost a century now, even longer than the term "biotechnology" exists. Biotechnological techniques to treat waste before or after it has been brought into the environment are components of environmental biotechnological tools. Biotechnology can also be applied industrially for use in developing products and processes that generate less waste and use less nonrenewable resources and consume less energy. A biosensor is an analytical device that integrates a biological sensing element (e.g., an enzyme or an antibody) with a physical (e.g., optical, mass, or electrochemical) transducer, whereby the interaction between the target and the bio-recognition molecules is translated into a measurable electrical signal. Potent alternatives to conventional analytical techniques are Optical biosensors that exploit light absorption, fluorescence, luminescence, reflectance, Raman scattering and refractive index. Devoid of any time-consuming sample concentration and or prior sample pretreatment steps these biosensors provide rapid, highly sensitive, real-time, and highfrequency monitoring. Although optical biosensors have great potential applications in the areas of environmental monitoring, food safety, drug development, biomedical research, and diagnosis. Their use in fields of environmental pollution control and early warning is still in the early stages. Biosensors are classified according to their transduction principle such as optical, electrochemical and piezoelectric or based on their recognition element as immunosensors, apt sensors, genosensors, and enzymatic biosensors, when antibodies, aptamers, nucleic acids, and enzymes are, respectively, used.

Phytoextraction Potential of Sunn Hemp, Sunflower, and Marigold for Carbaryl Contamination: Hydroponic Experiment

“…The standard solution of carbaryl was freshly prepared in at least 5 concentrations (0.02–20.0 mg L −1 ), and the standard solution of 1-naphthol was fresh-prepared in at least 5 concentrations (0.005–2.0 mg L −1 ). The procedure of carbaryl and 1-naphthol determination was modified by Biswas and colleagues and Ozhan and colleagues [ 8 , 16 ]. Plant samples were cut and separated into shoots and roots, weighed, and the weights were recorded.…”

“…The removal efficiency of several plants has been reported regarding pesticides, such as carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, carbaryl, inuron, permethrin, and triazophos [ 3 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Some species, such as Phragmites sp., can remove pesticides [ 14 , 15 , 16 ], while plants, such as Phragmites australis , have been used to remove pesticide wastewater based on a wetland system [ 14 , 17 ]. Among these remediating plants, some can be classified as ornamental and leguminous, such as lupine, sunflower, and morning glory.…”

“…Testing for hyperaccumulators for application in the field is important. Several plant species may be used on-site to remove more than one contaminant [ 16 , 20 , 21 ]. Plants that have the ability to perform phytoextraction are characterized by their ability to accumulate and tolerate high concentrations of pollutants while maintaining a rapid growth rate.…”

Roles and significance of chelating agents for potentially toxic elements (PTEs) phytoremediation in soil: A review

“…(Op De Beeck et al, 2015) and Funneliformis mosseaewas (Berthelot et al, 2018) plant biomass with Cd were also treated utilising biodegradation process. Bano et al (2020) and Jing et al (2020) observed that the degradation process of plant biomass is more effective with fungi than bacteria. Following that, Zhang et al (2013) and Chen et al (2016Chen et al ( , 2018 reported on the effective degradation of plant biomass by utilising fungi.…”