Rapid chemiluminescence biosensing of microcystin-LR

Microcystin Incidence in the Drinking Water of Mozambique: Challenges for Public Health Protection

Microcystins (MCs) are cyanotoxins produced mainly by freshwater cyanobacteria, which constitute a threat to public health due to their negative effects on humans, such as gastroenteritis and related diseases, including death. In Mozambique, where only 50% of the people have access to safe drinking water, this hepatotoxin is not monitored, and consequently, the population may be exposed to MCs. The few studies done in Maputo and Gaza provinces indicated the occurrence of MC-LR, -YR, and -RR at a concentration ranging from 6.83 to 7.78 µg·L-1, which are very high, around 7 times above than the maximum limit (1 µg·L-1) recommended by WHO. The potential MCs-producing in the studied sites are mainly Microcystis species. These data from Mozambique and from surrounding countries (South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania) evidence the need to implement an operational monitoring program of MCs in order to reduce or avoid the possible cases of intoxications since the drinking water quality control tests recommended by the Ministry of Health do not include an MC test. To date, no data of water poisoning episodes recorded were associated with MCs presence in the water. However, this might be underestimated due to a lack of monitoring facilities and/or a lack of public health staff trained for recognizing symptoms of MCs intoxication since the presence of high MCs concentration was reported in Maputo and Gaza provinces.

Toxic cyanobacteria and drinking water: Impacts, detection, and treatment

Blooms of toxic cyanobacteria in water supply systems are a global issue affecting water supplies on every major continent except Antarctica. The occurrence of toxic cyanobacteria in freshwater is increasing in both frequency and distribution. The protection of water supplies has therefore become increasingly more challenging. To reduce the risk from toxic cyanobacterial blooms in drinking water, a multi-barrier approach is needed, consisting of prevention, source control, treatment optimization, and monitoring. In this paper, current research on some of the critical elements of this multi-barrier approach are reviewed and synthesized, with an emphasis on the effectiveness of water treatment technologies for removing cyanobacteria and related toxic compounds. This paper synthesizes and updates a number of previous review articles on various aspects of this multi-barrier approach in order to provide a holistic resource for researchers, water managers and engineers, as well as water treatment plant operators.

Label-free voltammetric aptasensor for the sensitive detection of microcystin-LR using graphene-modified electrodes

The development of successful biosensing platforms is highly dependent upon the biorecognition properties of the recognition receptor and the sensitivity of the transducer of the binding signal. The integration of the high affinity and specificity of DNA aptamers with the unique properties of the carbon nanomaterial graphene offers an excellent avenue for sensitive and selective biosensing architectures. In this work, a highly sensitive and selective aptasensor which utilizes an unlabeled DNA aptamer assembled on a graphene electrode for microcystin-LR detection was developed. A facile strategy was used for the aptasensor fabrication on the basis of the noncovalent assembly of DNA aptamer on graphene-modified screen printed carbon electrodes. Assembly of the DNA aptamer on the graphene-modified electrodes caused a marked drop in the square wave voltammetric reduction signal of the [Fe(CN)6](4-/3-) redox couple. The presence of microcystin-LR, on the other hand, caused a dose-responsive increase in peak current, allowing the quantification of microcystin-LR through the measurement of peak current change. Under optimal conditions, the detection limit of the developed aptasensor was 1.9 pM in buffer, a concentration much lower than those offered by previously reported biosensors for microcystin-LR. The developed aptasensor also exhibited excellent selectivity for microcystin-LR with no detectable cross-reactivity to okadaic acid, microcystin-LA, and microcystin-YR. Moreover, the proposed aptasensor has been applied for the analysis of spiked tap water and fish samples showing good recovery percentages. This novel, simple, high-performance, and low-cost detection platform would facilitate the routine monitoring of microcystin-LR in real samples.

An aptamer-based immunoassay in microchannels of a portable analyzer for detection of microcystin-leucine-arginine

The rapid detection of microcystin-leucine-arginine (MC-LR), the most highly toxic among MCs, is significantly important to environmental and human health protection and prevention of MC-LR from being used as a bioweapon. Although aptamers offer higher affinity, specificity, and stability with MC-LR than antibodies in the immunodetection of MC-LR due to steric hindrance between two antibodies and limited epitopes of MC-LR for use in a sandwich immunoassay, no sandwich immunoassay using an aptmer has been developed for MC-LR detection. This study is aimed at developing an aptamer-antibody immunoassay (AAIA) to detect MC-LR using a portable analyzer. The aptamers were immobilized onto the glass surface of a microchamber to capture MC-LR. MC-LR and horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled antibody were pulled into the microchamber to react with the immobilized aptamer. The chemiluminescence (CL) catalyzed by HRP was tested by a photodiode-based portable analyzer. MC-LR at 0.5-4.0 μg/L was detected quantitatively by the AAIA, with a CL signal sensitivity of 0.3 μg/L. The assay took less than 35 min for a single sample and demonstrated a high specificity, detecting only MC-LR, but not MC-LA, MC-YR, or nodularin-R. The recovery of two spiked real environmental samples calculated as 94.5-112.7%. Therefore, this AAIA was proved to be a rapid and simple method to detect MC-LR in the field by a single analyst.

Immunoassays and biosensors for the detection of cyanobacterial toxins in water

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.

A membrane-based ELISA assay and electrochemical immunosensor for microcystin-LR in water samples

We describe within this paper the development of an affinity sensor for the detection of the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin-LR. The first stage of the work included acquiring and testing of the antibodies to this target. Following the investigation, a heterogeneous direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) format for microcystin-LR detection was developed, achieving a detection limit, LLD(80) = 0.022 μg L(-1). The system was then transferred to an affinity membrane sorbent-based ELISA. This was an amenable format for immunoassay incorporation into a disposable amperometric immunosensor device. This membrane-based ELISA achieved a detection limit, LLD(80) = 0.06 μg L(-1). A three-electrode immunosensor system was fabricated using thick-film screen-printing technology. Amperometric horseradish peroxidase transduction of hydrogen peroxide catalysis, at low reducing potentials, versus Ag/AgCl reference and carbon counter electrodes, was facilitated by hydroquinone-mediated electron transfer. A detection limit of 0.5 μg L(-1) for microcystin-LR was achieved. Similar levels of detection could be obtained using direct electrochemical sensing of the dye produced using the membrane-based ELISA. These techniques proved to be simple, cost-effective, and suitable for the detection of microcystin-LR in buffer and spiked tap and river water samples.

Kinetic-spectrometric three-dimensional chemiluminescence as an effective analytical tool. Application to the determination of benzo(a)pyrene

Kinetic and spectroscopic methods were used in combination in this work to develop a new analytical tool for use in chemiluminescence detection processes. Specifically, time-resolved chemiluminescence was used jointly with a stopped-flow assembly in order to monitor the chemiluminescence produced in the oxidation of bis(2,4-dinitrophenyl)oxalate (DNPO) by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Recording of successive two-dimensional spectra during the emission process and treating the acquired spectral data with dedicated software allows the obtainment of three-dimensional chemiluminescence spectra, a result of the joint use of two analytical techniques. Thus, using a flow cell specifically designed for direct coupling to the charge-coupled device (CCD) detector increases the emission intensity without the need for fibre optics. Also, using dedicated software to process the acquired two-dimensional spectra affords a comprehensive kinetic and spectroscopic characterization of the chemiluminescence signal via the three-dimensional spectrum previously obtained. The analytical potential of this new tool was assessed by application to the chemiluminescent reaction between a peroxyoxalate and an oxidant (hydrogen peroxide); the reaction is induced by benzo(a)pyrene, which was used to determine this polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in an organic solvent. A linear calibration graph was obtained between 0.5 and 20 mg L(-1). The limit of detection found to be 3.97 μg L(-1) and a relative standard error of 0.64% and a relative standard deviation of 1.87% were obtained. The results reached testify to the usefulness of the proposed analytical tool for simple determinations and its potential for the resolution of complex mixtures or determinations in complex matrices.

Highly sensitive and rapid detection of microcystin-LR in source and finished water samples using cantilever sensors

Microcystin-leucine-arginine (MCLR) is one of the toxic microcystin congeners produced by the common cyanobacteria, blue-green algae. A piezoelectric-excited millimeter-sized cantilever (PEMC) sensor was developed for the sensitive detection of MCLR in a flow format using both monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies that bind specifically to MCLR. PEMC is a resonant cantilever sensor whose resonant frequency decreases as target analyte binds to its surface. Monoclonal antibody against MCLR was immobilized on the sensor surface via amine coupling. As the toxin in the sample water bound to the antibody, resonant frequency decreased proportional to toxin concentration. Three water matrices, namely buffer, tap water, and river water, were spiked with MCLR standards and were successfully detected in the dynamic range of 1 pg/mL to 100 ng/mL (effective concentration -250 fg/mL to 25 ng/mL). The sensor response was characterized by a log-linear relationship between resonant frequency change and MCLR concentration. Positive verification of MCLR detection was confirmed by a sandwich binding on the sensor with a second antibody binding to MCLR on the sensor (attached in first detection step) which caused a further resonant frequency decrease. We show for the first time that MCLR in various water samples can be detected at 1 pg/mL.

Determination of microcystins in river waters using microsensor arrays on disk

The development of simple, accurate, and rapid multisample analytical methodologies to find out critical targets in waters is highly demanded. Optical microsensor arrays to determine microcystins in river waters are developed on the polycarbonate side of compact discs. The working principle of the sensors relied on an indirect competitive microimmunoassay, where free microcystin LR (MC-LR) competes with immobilized conjugate for specific monoclonal antibody. The results of the immunoreaction are detected with a DVD drive, showing the readouts in minutes. The method reached a sensitivity (IC(50)) for MC-LR of 1.04 μg/L and a linear response in the range 0.12-2.00 μg/L, allowing its determination below the upper limit proposed by the World Health Organization in drinking water. The developed analytical approach shows simplicity, good sensitivity, high throughput capability, and rapidity (37 min) in field use. The optimized assay showed also high congener reactivity to MC-LY (144%), MC-LA (125%), MC-LF (119%), MC-LW (102%), MC-YR (83%), and nodularin (94%). Furthermore, the suitability of the disk biosensor to quantify MC-LR was successfully evaluated analyzing river water samples, obtaining excellent recoveries (78-113%). Precoated discs are stable for at least seven weeks without loosing their analytical performances. Also, the portability of the analytical system permits on-site analysis and quantification, saving time and other resources. To our knowledge, this is the only work where a portable, easy-to-use, array based system has been developed for on-site microcystin quantification and applied to simultaneously analyze 42 samples plus the calibration curve, reaching microgram per liter sensitivity.