Highly Sensitive Electrochemical Biosensors for Water Monitoring

Gabriele Chemnitius, Markus Meusel, Chrisliane Zaborosch, Meinhard Knoll, Friedrich Spener, Karl Cammann

Institut für Chemo- und Diosensorik e.V., Mendelstr. 7, D-48149 Münster, Germany

Article history:
Received  November 21, 1995 
Accepted  April 12, 1996

Key words:
water monitoring, electrochemical biosensors, immuno-, enzyme- and microbial sensors

Summary:
Environmental monitoring and prevention of pollution are becoming increasingly important especially in respect to media, e.g. water, coming into direct contact with living organisms. Many of these monitoring requirements can be accomplished by making use of biosensors. In comparison with classical analytical methods, biosensor devices play an increasing role, because they offer the possibility of rapid, highly sensitive and cost-effective measurements. Biosensors are based on a biological component which reads with the analyte, e.g. an enzyme or antibody molecule, and a transducer that generates a signal. This report focuses on immunosensors, enzyme sensors and microbial sensors with electrochemical detection which offer the possibility both of single-analyte measurements and the estimation of sum-values.