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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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