Live-Cell Systems in Real-Time Biomonitoring of Water Pollution: Practical Considerations and Future Perspectives

Continuous monitoring and early warning of potential water contamination with toxic chemicals is of paramount importance for human health and sustainable food production. During the last few decades there have been noteworthy advances in technologies for the automated sensing of physicochemical para...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Donald Wlodkowic, Tomasz M. Karpiński
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-10-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/21/7028
_version_ 1797511762740772864
author Donald Wlodkowic
Tomasz M. Karpiński
author_facet Donald Wlodkowic
Tomasz M. Karpiński
author_sort Donald Wlodkowic
collection DOAJ
description Continuous monitoring and early warning of potential water contamination with toxic chemicals is of paramount importance for human health and sustainable food production. During the last few decades there have been noteworthy advances in technologies for the automated sensing of physicochemical parameters of water. These do not translate well into online monitoring of chemical pollutants since most of them are either incapable of real-time detection or unable to detect impacts on biological organisms. As a result, biological early warning systems have been proposed to supplement conventional water quality test strategies. Such systems can continuously evaluate physiological parameters of suitable aquatic species and alert the user to the presence of toxicants. In this regard, single cellular organisms, such as bacteria, cyanobacteria, micro-algae and vertebrate cell lines, offer promising avenues for development of water biosensors. Historically, only a handful of systems utilising single-cell organisms have been deployed as established online water biomonitoring tools. Recent advances in recombinant microorganisms, cell immobilisation techniques, live-cell microarrays and microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip technologies open new avenues to develop miniaturised systems capable of detecting a broad range of water contaminants. In experimental settings, they have been shown as sensitive and rapid biosensors with capabilities to detect traces of contaminants. In this work, we critically review the recent advances and practical prospects of biological early warning systems based on live-cell biosensors. We demonstrate historical deployment successes, technological innovations, as well as current challenges for the broader deployment of live-cell biosensors in the monitoring of water quality.
first_indexed 2024-03-10T05:52:39Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2614d704c85a4d01b183ea019ddd458d
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1424-8220
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-10T05:52:39Z
publishDate 2021-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Sensors
spelling doaj.art-2614d704c85a4d01b183ea019ddd458d2023-11-22T21:35:31ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202021-10-012121702810.3390/s21217028Live-Cell Systems in Real-Time Biomonitoring of Water Pollution: Practical Considerations and Future PerspectivesDonald Wlodkowic0Tomasz M. Karpiński1The Neurotox Laboratory, School of Science, RMIT University, Plenty Road, P.O. Box 71, Bundoora, VIC 3083, AustraliaChair and Department of Medical Microbiology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Wieniawskiego 3, 61-712 Poznań, PolandContinuous monitoring and early warning of potential water contamination with toxic chemicals is of paramount importance for human health and sustainable food production. During the last few decades there have been noteworthy advances in technologies for the automated sensing of physicochemical parameters of water. These do not translate well into online monitoring of chemical pollutants since most of them are either incapable of real-time detection or unable to detect impacts on biological organisms. As a result, biological early warning systems have been proposed to supplement conventional water quality test strategies. Such systems can continuously evaluate physiological parameters of suitable aquatic species and alert the user to the presence of toxicants. In this regard, single cellular organisms, such as bacteria, cyanobacteria, micro-algae and vertebrate cell lines, offer promising avenues for development of water biosensors. Historically, only a handful of systems utilising single-cell organisms have been deployed as established online water biomonitoring tools. Recent advances in recombinant microorganisms, cell immobilisation techniques, live-cell microarrays and microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip technologies open new avenues to develop miniaturised systems capable of detecting a broad range of water contaminants. In experimental settings, they have been shown as sensitive and rapid biosensors with capabilities to detect traces of contaminants. In this work, we critically review the recent advances and practical prospects of biological early warning systems based on live-cell biosensors. We demonstrate historical deployment successes, technological innovations, as well as current challenges for the broader deployment of live-cell biosensors in the monitoring of water quality.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/21/7028waterpollutionearly warningsensorbacteriaalgae
spellingShingle Donald Wlodkowic
Tomasz M. Karpiński
Live-Cell Systems in Real-Time Biomonitoring of Water Pollution: Practical Considerations and Future Perspectives
Sensors
water
pollution
early warning
sensor
bacteria
algae
title Live-Cell Systems in Real-Time Biomonitoring of Water Pollution: Practical Considerations and Future Perspectives
title_full Live-Cell Systems in Real-Time Biomonitoring of Water Pollution: Practical Considerations and Future Perspectives
title_fullStr Live-Cell Systems in Real-Time Biomonitoring of Water Pollution: Practical Considerations and Future Perspectives
title_full_unstemmed Live-Cell Systems in Real-Time Biomonitoring of Water Pollution: Practical Considerations and Future Perspectives
title_short Live-Cell Systems in Real-Time Biomonitoring of Water Pollution: Practical Considerations and Future Perspectives
title_sort live cell systems in real time biomonitoring of water pollution practical considerations and future perspectives
topic water
pollution
early warning
sensor
bacteria
algae
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/21/7028
work_keys_str_mv AT donaldwlodkowic livecellsystemsinrealtimebiomonitoringofwaterpollutionpracticalconsiderationsandfutureperspectives
AT tomaszmkarpinski livecellsystemsinrealtimebiomonitoringofwaterpollutionpracticalconsiderationsandfutureperspectives