Team:SouthBendMishawakaIN

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Team: SouthBendMishawakaIN
Title: The "Arsenator:" Design and development of a biosensor for arsenic in ground water

Abstract


Millions of people worldwide are exposed to toxic levels of arsenic through contaminated

drinking water. In last year’s project, we began the development of an E. coli-based

arsenic biosensor using an arsenic-induced promoter from the Registry (K190015). Like the

Groningen Team, we found that this promoter is “leaky,” having a constant low level of

activity. We explored ways of reducing background activity to improve the sensitivity of

our device. We have built and characterized biosensors using K190015 and a number of

chemiluminescence generators from Vibrio fisheri and two species of fireflies. In order to

standardize our biosensor we have designed and built a simple luminometer. Paired with our

device, this can be used to inexpensively and rapidly detect arsenic in water, even by

people in underdeveloped parts of the world.


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