Immunoassays and Biosensors for the Detection of Cyanobacterial Toxins in Water

Abstract

Algal blooms are a frequent phenomenon in nearly all kinds of fresh water. Global warming and eutrophication by waste water, air pollution and fertilizers seem to lead to an increased frequency of occurrence. Many cyanobacteria produce hazardous and quite persistent toxins, which can contaminate the respective water bodies. This may limit the use of the raw water for many purposes. The purification of the contaminated water might be quite costly, which makes a continuous and large scale treatment economically unfeasible in many cases. Due to the obvious risks of algal toxins, an online or mobile detection method would be highly desirable. Several biosensor systems have been presented in the literature for this purpose. In this review, their mode of operation, performance and general suitability for the intended purpose will be described and critically discussed. Finally, an outlook on current developments and future prospects will be given.

Production of monoclonal antibodies with broad specificity and development of an immunoassay for microcystins and nodularin in water

“…However, mouse assays are usually not sufficiently sensitive [10], protein phosphatase inhibition assays lack specificity [11], and high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet or mass spectrometry requires complicated procedures and an expensive apparatus [12]. As an effective alternative, immunoassay methods provide some advantages, such as simplicity and cost-effectiveness, which make them particularly useful for the multianalyte screening of MCs and NOD [13,14]. Generally, an antibody with high affinity and feature selectivity is the key reagent in an immunoassay.…”

Application of cellular biosensors for detection of atypical toxic bioactivity in microcystin-containing cyanobacterial extracts

“…This analytical approach is a cutting edge tool in aquatic toxicology and arouses increasing interest in ecotoxicological circles, as several recent publications have shown (Singh et al, 2012;Weller, 2013). Within the last two years, the cellular biosensor method has helped to identify potential developmental toxicity effects of cyanobacterial extracts due to their endocrine disruption potency (Jonas et al, 2014(Jonas et al, , 2015.…”

“…Unfortunately, most were directed at specific types of main groups of toxins, such as microcystins or cylindrospermopsin (see reviews by Singh et al, 2012 andWeller, 2013). Pioneering studies from the laboratories of Ludek Bláha and Klára Hilscherová applied reporter gene-based biosensors to evaluation of endocrine disruption potential of cyanobacterial cell components, with estrogen-like and retinoid-like activity detected (Štěpánková et al, 2011;Sychrová et al, 2012;Jonas et al, 2014Jonas et al, , 2015.…”

The mutual influences of man-made pollutants and allergic manifestations

“…For example, algae blooms are frequently observed in fresh water, presumably intensified by global warming. The hazardous toxins that are produced by these cyanobacteria are difficult to remove from fresh water sources, which would be required in order to make it suitable for consumptions (Weller, 2013). In addition, wastewater has been linked to viral, bacterial and protozoan diseases leading to e.g.…”