A Customizable Real-Time Biosensor for Continuous Monitoring of Water Contaminants

Ensuring access to clean water for generations to come will involve developing novel approaches to determining the safety and composition of potable water that are practical and affordableArsenicmercuryand cadmium are three of the top priorities among hazardous substances commonly found at Superfund sitesas they are linked to health problems in people exposed to them in drinking wateryet the current real time monitoring methods for these and other contaminants are either extremely costly or nonexistentmaking it dif cult to monitor water quality with high spatial or temporal resolutionQBiSci is developing a biosensor that uses synthetic microbial sensor strains thatuoresce in response to speci c toxins to continuously monitor water for contaminationThe platform will substantially improve upon currently available technologies for toxin detectionmaking monitoring more affordablecontinuousandeld deployableSpeci c AimTo fully characterize three synthetic Ecoli strains that speci cally detect arsenicmercuryand cadmium in a continuous water streamFor a real time sensor to be maximally effectiveit must be able to report accurate toxin concentrations in real timeFocusing on three of the highest priority contaminants as a proof of feasibilitycomprehensive data will be acquired to train a machine learning algorithm to be able classify real world samples in real timeSpeci c AimTo develop and train a classi cation algorithm to recognize the type and amount of each contaminant present in a continuous water streamThe ability to analyze and interpret data in real time from a constantlyuctuating water source will require an extensive classi cation training effortQBiSciandapos s existing machine learning framework will be trained and tested using many contamination induction scenariosranging from sudden pulses to subtly varying concentrationsSpeci c AimTo develop a micro uidic cartridge system that reduces device complexity and enables sensor deployment with minimal interventionQBiSci will develop a swappable cartridge system using devices that are pre loaded with biologically stable strains and can simply beplugged into the sensor platform to achieve repeatable results in a user friendly mannerThe development of a method for thermoplastic device fabrication will enable the more precise connections required for a cartridge clamping system that will require little operational expertiseA successful outcome of this proposal will lead to a biosensor capable of real time quanti cation of arsenicmercuryand cadmium in a continuous water inputA future Phase II proposal would focus on real world performance evaluations of our sensors via deployment in areas of concern and comparison of our results to standard techniques as well as an expansion of the platform to detect other contaminants quantitatively and continuouslyAccess to cleanreliable water supplies is critical to our quality of life and our economyyet across the country overhazardous waste sites are so heavily contaminated that the underlying groundwater doesnandapos t meet drinking water standardsWhile there is a wide range of toxins found at these sitesarsenicmercuryand cadmium are among the most common offendersall of which have been linked to a variety of health problems ranging from cancer to diabetes as well as behavior and neurological disordersWe are developing a customizable real time biosensor that will enable contamination monitoring to become more affordablecontinuousandeld deployable and will facilitate improved management decisions aimed at reducing toxin concentrations in the environmenttracking the progression of contamination plumsand targeting investments in remediation efforts