Abstract
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.
Highlights
Water resources free of chemical pollutants are paramount for the protection of the biosphere, as well as a sustainable supply of water that is safe for human use and the production of food
An important component of source water protection programs are future online systems capable of continuously monitoring water quality and providing early warnings of developing chemical hazards [1,5,6,7,8]. They could increase the resilience of water supplies and significantly reduce the risks associated with chemical discharge emergencies. Such systems have been indicated by many governmental regulations including the US Safe Water Drinking Act (SWDA) that highlights the importance of source water assessment and protection programs safeguarding water supplies [5,7]
Biological methods do not provide analyte-specific data about the actual composition or concentration of toxicants, they can be successfully implemented in early warning systems against sudden contamination
Summary
Water resources free of chemical pollutants are paramount for the protection of the biosphere, as well as a sustainable supply of water that is safe for human use and the production of food. Rapid pollution incidents such as these cannot be predicted but have a significant potential of becoming catastrophic events, especially considering the rapidly increasing potable water shortages worldwide [1,5,6] In this regard, an important component of source water protection programs are future online systems capable of continuously monitoring water quality and providing early warnings of developing chemical hazards [1,5,6,7,8]. An important component of source water protection programs are future online systems capable of continuously monitoring water quality and providing early warnings of developing chemical hazards [1,5,6,7,8] They could increase the resilience of water supplies and significantly reduce the risks associated with chemical discharge emergencies.
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