Biosensors based on microalgae for the detection of environmental pollutants
OwnerGuillermo Orellana Moraleda, Victoria López Rodas +3inventors
InventorsGuillermo Orellana Moraleda, Victoria López Rodas, Eduardo Costas Costas, David Haig Florez, Emilia Maneiro Pampín
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Abstract
The present invention provides biosensors based on microalgae for the determination of the presence of toxic compounds in a sample, characterized by the high sensitivity and specificity thereof with respect to the target toxic substance. The biosensors are based on the measurement of the photosynthetic activity of algae by means of monitoring the molecular oxygen production by the microalgae by using a luminescent compound the emission of which depends on the amount of oxygen in the medium.
Claims24
A specific biosensor for detecting a toxic compound comprising:
- a) a first population of algae the oxygen production of which decreases in the presence of said compound,
- b) a second population of algae the oxygen production of which does not vary substantially in the presence of said compound, of the same species as the first population and which has been obtained by means of a process comprising the steps of,
- (i) a first selection of spontaneous mutants viable to said compound by exposure to said toxic compound and
- (ii) a second selection from the mutants obtained in step (i) in the presence of progressively higher concentrations of said toxic compound by at least one ratchet cycle
- c) means for stimulating the photosynthetic activity of the two populations of algae and
- d) means for detecting the oxygen produced by each of the two populations of algae, wherein the means for detecting the oxygen produced by each of the populations of algae comprise at least one compound the optical properties of which vary according to the concentration of oxygen in the medium and at least one optoelectric element suitable for detecting the optical properties of said compound.
A process for obtaining microalgae resistant to a toxic compound comprising the steps of
- a) a first selection of viable spontaneous mutants in the presence of said toxic compound and
- b) a second selection from the mutants isolated in step (a) in the presence of progressively higher concentrations of said toxic compound by at least one ratchet cycle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.