Characterization of a new composite membrane for point of need paper-based micro-scale microbial fuel cell analytical devices

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can evolve in a viable technology if environmentally sound materials are developed and became available at low cost for these devices. This is especially important not only for the designing of large wastewater treatment systems, but also for the fabrication of low-cost, single-use devices. In this work we synthesized membranes by a simple procedure involving easily-biodegradable and economic materials such as poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), chitosan (CS) and the composite PVA:CS. Membranes were chemical and physically characterized and compared to Nafion®. Performance was studied using the membrane as separator in a typical H-Type MFCs showing that PVA:CS membrane outperform Nafion® 4 times (power production) while being 75 times more economic. We found that performance in MFC depends over interactions among several membrane characteristics such as oxygen permeability and ion conductivity. Moreover, we design a paper-based micro-scale MFC, which was used as a toxicity assay using 16 μL samples containing formaldehyde as a model toxicant. The PVA:CS membrane presented here can offer low environmental impact and become a very interesting option for point of need single-use analytical devices, especially in low-income countries where burning is used as disposal method, and toxic fluoride fumes (from Nafion®) can be released to the environment.

Biosensor Technologies in Medicine: from Detection of Biochemical Markers to Research into Molecular Targets (Review)

“…According to the experts’ forecasts, in 10–15 years the market for these analytical devices will exceed $ 70 billion [ 25 , 26 ]. Most of them are focused on conducting laboratory studies of biofluids for early and accurate quantitative rapid identification of the molecular markers of myocardial infarction, diabetes, sepsis, as well as identification of the markers of parasitic and infectious diseases [ 25 , 26 , 41 , 42 ].…”

“…The recognition elements (bioreceptors) are common to all types of biosensors used in biomedical diagnostics: immunoglobulins (antibodies), enzymes (or microbial cell homogenates), nucleic acids (DNA, RNA, and PNA — peptide nucleic acids) [ 45 – 47 ], microbial cells (microorganisms) [ 5 , 42 , 44 ], and aptamers (short DNA and RNA oligonucleotides that can specifically bind to specific targets-molecules) [ 3 , 40 , 48 ]. These receptor biomolecules with concentrations ranging from 1 to 5 mg/mm 2 are immobilized on a solid sensor substrate (matrix) by covalent binding or biotin-avidin interaction.…”

“…The main advantage of this type of immobilization is that the matrix does not affect the biological properties of the receptor [ 25 , 26 ]. With covalent binding to the surface of the sensor matrix of the transducer, the biomolecules are held firmly, which prevents them from leaching out of the matrix, and this is of key importance when designing a reusable biosensor [ 40 , 42 , 52 , 53 ].…”

“…They are immune to electromagnetic interference, can perform remote sensing, and have a number of advantages, including high sensitivity, direct real-time measurement, and multiplexing (simultaneous detection of multiple analytes). The microbial biosensors that detect interactions between microorganisms and target ligands are no exception [ 5 , 42 –44, 54].…”

Label-Free Biosensors for Laboratory-Based Diagnostics of Infections: Current Achievements and New Trends

“…Classification of biosensors based on constructive strategies for detection methods.The following recognition elements (bioreceptors) are common to all types of biosensors used in biomedical diagnostics: immunoglobulins (antibodies), enzymes (or microbial cell homogenates), nucleic acids (DNA, RNA, PNA)[23,[48][49][50], microbial cells (microorganisms)[25,[51][52][53], and aptamers (short DNA and RNA oligonucleotides capable of specifically binding to certain target molecules)[3,54,55].…”