Fluorescent microarray for multiplexed quantification of environmental contaminants in seawater samples.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Seawater contamination by diverse chemical pollutants poses significant environmental and health risks.
• Existing methods for pollutant detection can be time-consuming, require sample pre-treatment, and lack multiplexing capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a fluorescent multiplexed microarray platform for simultaneous detection and quantification of various pollutants in seawater.
• To establish a rapid, accurate, and high-throughput method for environmental screening of chemical contaminants.

Main Methods:

• Manufacturing a microarray platform by spotting 6 different bioconjugate competitors.
• Utilizing a cocktail of monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against key pollutant families: triazine biocide (Irgarol 1051®), sulfonamide and chloramphenicol antibiotics, polybrominated diphenyl ether flame-retardant (PBDE, BDE-47), 17β-estradiol, and domoic acid.
• Assessing platform performance using 38 blind spiked seawater samples, evaluating accuracy and coefficient of variation.

Main Results:

• The platform achieved low limits of detection for target analytes, relevant to contaminated areas.
• Accurate quantification with a coefficient of variation <20% was demonstrated across all tested blind samples.
• The assay requires no sample pre-treatment and provides results within 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• The microarray demonstrated high sample throughput, capable of analyzing over 68 samples simultaneously.

Conclusions:

• The developed fluorescent multiplexed microarray platform offers a sensitive, specific, and efficient tool for simultaneous detection of multiple seawater pollutants.
• This technology has the potential for broad application in environmental monitoring and screening programs due to its speed, accuracy, and high throughput.
• The platform's ability to detect diverse chemical families directly in seawater represents a significant advancement in marine pollution assessment.