Biosensors for the monitoring of harmful algal blooms

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a major global concern due to their propensity to cause environmental damage, healthcare issues and economic losses. In particular, the presence of toxic phytoplankton is a cause for concern. Current HAB monitoring programs often involve laborious laboratory-based analysis at a high cost and with long turnaround times. The latter also hampers the potential to develop accurate and reliable models that can predict HAB occurrence. However, a promising solution for this issue may be in the form of remotely deployed biosensors, which can rapidly and continuously measure algal and toxin levels at the point-of-need (PON), at a low cost. This review summarises the issues HABs present, how they are difficult to monitor and recently developed biosensors that may improve HAB-monitoring challenges.

A review of the global distribution of Alexandrium minutum (Dinophyceae) and comments on ecology and associated paralytic shellfish toxin profiles, with a focus on Northern Europe

“…With the continuing expansion of the global human population there is a concomitant rise in the need for safe food sources, the presence of PSTs in seafood poses a risk which is becoming increasingly important (McPartlin et al. ), the contribution of A. minutum to this risk is therefore an important factor to be assessed.…”

“…As a result, A. minutum is recognized as one of the many harmful algal species which naturally occur around the globe and is known to have had impacts on humans, food security, and other marine organisms (Costas and Lopez-Rodas 1996, Usup et al 2002, Ranston et al 2007, Erdner et al 2010, Santos et al 2014. With the continuing expansion of the global human population there is a concomitant rise in the need for safe food sources, the presence of PSTs in seafood poses a risk which is becoming increasingly important (McPartlin et al 2017), the contribution of A. minutum to this risk is therefore an important factor to be assessed.…”

Impedance Biosensing atop MoS2 Thin Films with Mo−S Bond Formation to Antibody Fragments Created by Disulphide Bond Reduction

“…Biosensors have been widely investigated for detection of analytes such as glucose and other disease biomarkers , food allergens and food pathogens , environmental toxins and contaminants , and for monitoring agriculture, bioprocessing, and food processing . A wide variety of different biosensor formats have been studied and tested, with the most common transduction methods being optical, electrochemical, and acoustic detection.…”

Recent Progress in Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring: A Review

“…Due to the high frequency of harmful algal blooms, new, rapid, and reliable analytical methodologies have been required to their early detection and monitoring. Biosensors have been developed for the detection of algal RNA due to the excellent sensitivity and specificity of nucleic acid probes to their complementary binding partners [ 84 , 85 ]. An electrochemical genosensor based on screen printed gold electrode was recently reported for the enhanced selective and sensitive detection of RNA from 13 harmful algal species; the genosensor could discriminate RNA targets from environmental samples (spiked seawater samples) containing 10 5 cells, considered as the limit of detection [ 84 ].…”