[Isolation of a methanol-utilizing strain and its application for determining methanol]

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Biotechnology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Methanol determination is crucial for environmental monitoring and industrial processes.
• Development of sensitive and selective biosensors is an active area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize bacteria for developing a microbial biosensor for methanol determination.
• To evaluate the performance of the developed methanol biosensor.

Main Methods:

• Bacterial isolation using selective medium and streak plate technique.
• Identification of the bacterial strain through morphological, physiological, and 16S rDNA sequence analysis.
• Development of a biosensor by immobilizing the isolated bacterium (M211) with a dissolved oxygen sensor.

Main Results:

• Isolation and identification of Methylobacterium organophilium as a methanol-utilizing bacterium.
• Establishment of a linear relationship between decreased oxygen concentration and methanol concentration (0.02%–1%).
• Achieved a methanol detection limit of 0.27 mg/L with a response time within 20 minutes. Satisfactory results in interference tests and methanol sample detection.

Conclusions:

• The isolated Methylobacterium organophilium is suitable for developing a methanol biosensor.
• The developed microbial biosensor demonstrates good performance in terms of sensitivity, response time, and accuracy.
• The proposed biosensor presents a promising and attractive method for effective methanol monitoring.