TY - JOUR
T1 - Magnetized electrochemically active bacteria-based whole-cell biosensors for real-time sensing of water toxicity
AU - Zhao, Hongyu
AU - Ge, Yanhong
AU - Wu, Jing
AU - Cao, Bo
AU - Yi, Yue
AU - Xie, Beizhen
AU - Liu, Hong
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2026/3
Y1 - 2026/3
N2 - Real-time sensing of water toxicity is essential for environmental health monitoring. However, devising an electrochemically active biofilm-based biosensor for water toxicity assaying usually requires cumbersome culture techniques to immobilize electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) on the electrode, which results in poor timeliness of water quality early-warning. Herein, we developed magnetized electrochemically active bacteria (MEAB)-based whole-cell biosensors (WCBs) for real-time sensing of water toxicity. The results showed that artificial MEAB biofilm could be magnetically constructed in one step within 5 s, which greatly simplified the fabrication process of artificial electrochemically active biofilm. By correlating quantifiable bioelectrical signal with MEAB cell activity, the MEAB-based WCBs enabled detection of Hg2+, trichloroacetic acid (TCAA), avermectin (AVM), Cr6+, and chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC) in synthetic water samples within 30 min. The estimated detection limit for Hg2+, TCAA, AVM, Cr6+, and CTC reached 50.4 ± 1.6, 54.7 ± 1.5, 62.8 ± 2.0, 66.8 ± 1.6, and 73.3 ± 2.2 μg L−1 with optimal biomass, respectively. As proof-of-concept applications, the MEAB-based WCBs not only achieved accurate detection of 0.1 mg L−1 toxicants in real water samples but also successfully sensed comprehensive toxicity of agricultural wastewater within 30 min. This study provides a new strategy for real-time sensing of water toxicity.
AB - Real-time sensing of water toxicity is essential for environmental health monitoring. However, devising an electrochemically active biofilm-based biosensor for water toxicity assaying usually requires cumbersome culture techniques to immobilize electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) on the electrode, which results in poor timeliness of water quality early-warning. Herein, we developed magnetized electrochemically active bacteria (MEAB)-based whole-cell biosensors (WCBs) for real-time sensing of water toxicity. The results showed that artificial MEAB biofilm could be magnetically constructed in one step within 5 s, which greatly simplified the fabrication process of artificial electrochemically active biofilm. By correlating quantifiable bioelectrical signal with MEAB cell activity, the MEAB-based WCBs enabled detection of Hg2+, trichloroacetic acid (TCAA), avermectin (AVM), Cr6+, and chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC) in synthetic water samples within 30 min. The estimated detection limit for Hg2+, TCAA, AVM, Cr6+, and CTC reached 50.4 ± 1.6, 54.7 ± 1.5, 62.8 ± 2.0, 66.8 ± 1.6, and 73.3 ± 2.2 μg L−1 with optimal biomass, respectively. As proof-of-concept applications, the MEAB-based WCBs not only achieved accurate detection of 0.1 mg L−1 toxicants in real water samples but also successfully sensed comprehensive toxicity of agricultural wastewater within 30 min. This study provides a new strategy for real-time sensing of water toxicity.
KW - Interfacial electron transfer
KW - Magnetized electrochemically active bacteria (MEAB)
KW - Mass transfer
KW - Real-time bioelectronic sensing
KW - Water toxicity bioassay
KW - Whole-cell biosensors (WCBs)
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105016892146
U2 - 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2025.109119
DO - 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2025.109119
M3 - Article
C2 - 41014875
AN - SCOPUS:105016892146
SN - 1567-5394
VL - 168
JO - Bioelectrochemistry
JF - Bioelectrochemistry
M1 - 109119
ER -