One drop is enough

PSNIU scientists have patented a biosensor for copper detection

PGNIU Press Service

Perm University scientists have received a patent for the invention of a new method for detecting copper ions in the environment and a biosensor for its implementation. One drop of liquid is enough for the new device to perform the analysis.

The biosensor is a microfluidic chip made of a transparent polymer. The solution for analysis is placed in the microchannels of the chip, inside which there are traps containing gel microspheres of agarose with a size of 50-70 micrometers (0.05–0.07 millimeters).

These traps contain genetically modified bacteria that produce a special protein. It helps to determine the presence of copper in the solution. This protein emits a red glow if it is irradiated in the wavelength range of green light through a special light filter. When copper ions bind to a protein, it loses the ability to glow: the more copper in the solution, the weaker the glow of bacteria in the biosensor.

"In high concentrations, copper is toxic and can have a negative impact on humans and nature. The biosensor is very relevant today, because copper, due to its widespread use and the presence of large industrial productions, is a common pollutant of the cities of the Urals and, in particular, the Perm Region," says Anatoly Otroshchenko, one of the authors of the patent, head of the laboratory of micro- and nanohydrodynamics, assistant of the Department of General Physics at PSNIU.

A significant advantage of the biosensor is the speed of analysis. If foreign analogues determine the amount of copper ions for two hours or more, then the development of Perm scientists will cope with the task within 10 minutes. In addition, the biosensor is insensitive to toxic substances contained in the analyzed solution.

The development was carried out by scientists of the Faculty of Physics and Biology of PSNIU together with colleagues from the A.N. Bach Institute of Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences as part of the project under the federal target program "Research and Development in priority areas of development of the scientific and technological complex of Russia for 2014-2020".

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  28.09.2017