Bacteria functionalized gold nanoparticle matrix based fiber-optic sensor for monitoring heavy metal pollution in water

In the present study, E.coli B40 bacteria were explored as possible receptors on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) based biosensor for sensing heavy metal ions viz. mercury (Hg2+) and cadmium (Cd2+) in water. The E. coli B40 bacteria were immobilized on gold nanoparticles (AuNP) coated fiber-optic probes by depositing two bi-layers of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. The E. coli immobilized sensor probes were subjected to different concentrations of Hg2+ and Cd2+ ions, ranging from 0.5 ppb to 2000 ppb. These metal ions interact with the thiols and other surface groups present on the bacterial cells, resulting in the change of refractive index around AuNP coated sensor probes, thereby modulating the sensor response. The detection was performed by spiking de-ionized (DI) water and tap water with metal ions and the limit of detection was found to be 0.5 ppb. The proposed sensor could detect heavy metal ions within 10 min from a small sample (< 1 ml) and showed good selectivity towards heavy metal ions over other transition metal ions. Control studies performed using amino acids like cysteine as receptors were found to be less sensitive than the proposed scheme using bacterial cells.