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Preparation and Application of a New Bacterial Biosensor for the Presumptive Detection of Gunshot Residue
Published on: May 9, 2019
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Microbial bioreporters of trace explosives
Benjamin Shemer1, Ori Koshet1, Sharon Yagur-Kroll1
1Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Current Opinion in Biotechnology
|March 21, 2017
Summary
Microbial bioreporters offer a novel solution for detecting trace explosives, addressing environmental pollution and the threat of buried landmines. These engineered sensors provide a quantifiable signal for monitoring and remote detection applications.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Biotechnology
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Explosives like 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) cause significant environmental pollution in soil and water.
- Buried landmines and explosive devices pose global threats, causing casualties and economic damage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advancements in designing and constructing microbial bioreporters for explosive detection.
- To explore the application of these biosensors in environmental monitoring and landmine detection.
Main Methods:
- Molecular engineering of microorganisms to create biosensors.
- Development of bioreporters that generate a quantifiable, dose-dependent signal in response to explosives.
Main Results:
- Engineered microbial bioreporters can detect trace amounts of explosives.
- These biosensors provide a quantifiable signal, enabling dose-dependent measurements.
Conclusions:
- Microbial bioreporters show promise for monitoring environmental explosive contamination.
- These sensor strains could be utilized for the remote detection of buried landmines and explosive devices.
