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Optical algal biosensor using alkaline phosphatase for determination of heavy metals
Claude Durrieu1, Canh Tran-Minh
1Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement, Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publiques de l'Etat, 3 Rue Maurice Audin, 69518 Vaulx en Velin cedex, France. claude.durrieu@entpe.fr
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
|April 25, 2002
Abstract:
A biosensor is constructed to detect heavy metals from inhibition of alkaline phosphatase (AP) present on the external membrane of Chlorella vulgaris microalgae. The microalgal cells are immobilized on removable membranes placed in front of the tip of an optical fiber bundle inside a homemade microcell. C. vulgaris was cultivated in the laboratory and its alkaline phosphatase activity is strongly inhibited in the presence of heavy metals. This property has been used for the determination of those toxic compounds.