Pesticide toxicity assessment using an electrochemical biosensor with Pseudomonas putida and a bioluminescence inhibition assay with Vibrio fischeri

Abstract

Two different toxicity tests, an electrochemical biosensor Cellsense and a bioluminescence inhibition assay ToxAlert were performed in order to establish and compare the acute toxicity responses of different types of raw and spiked water for a selected group of pesticides. The selected compounds were endosulfan, chlorfenvinphos, dimethoate, fenamiphos, ametryn, deltamethrin and alpha-cypermethrin; all of them are used in large quantities for agricultural purposes. In the first step, the study of the toxicity responses for each individual pesticide with Milli-Q water was carried out. Next, the toxic responses of different mixtures of these pesticides in different water matrices, i.e., Milli-Q water, surface water, groundwater and wastewater were studied in order to evaluate (i) device advantages and limitations for the toxicity evaluation of real environmental samples, (ii) antagonistic or synergistic effects and (iii) the influence of the water matrices. The survey of pesticides in real samples was carried out using a combined method involving both chemical analysis and toxicity bioassays. Chemical analysis involved the use of solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC/ECD) or thermoionic specific detection (GC/TSD) with mass spectrometric confirmation (GC/MS).

Bioluminescent bacteria assay of veterinary drugs in excreta of food-producing animals

“…Several applications of the luminescent bacteria toxicity tests are reported in the literature. Among xenobiotics tested by these methods, antibiotics [10], polyaromatic hydrocarbons [11], analgesics [12], pesticides [13], heavy metals [14,15], anti-bacterial compounds such as triclosan [16], and non-ionic surfactants [17] are included.…”

Advances in the manufacturing, types, and applications of biosensors

“…Ink-jet printing technology is a non-contact process that can dispense a well-defined micro-quantity of the chemical or physical change. [8][9][10] Several biosensors have been developed that indicate toxicity of any chemical or physical change; new biosensors are being developed to respond to particular analytes. Such biosensors have been developed for heavy metals and metalloids including arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead.…”

Applications of Microbial Whole-Cell Biosensors in Detection of Specific Environmental Pollutants

“…The development of chemical responsive biosensors exploits the high specificity of regulatory protein interactions with chemicals. Examples are depicted in microbial biosensors used for detection of aromatic hydrocarbon [29,40,49], heavy metals [9,11,13], pesticides/herbicides [10,47], and various organophosphorous nerve agents [21].…”