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Dedication to TUT President Isao Karube: Microbial Biosensors

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A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensor and Bioelectronic Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 27238

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Hideaki Nakamura

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Guest Editor

Department of Liberal Arts, Tokyo University of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Interests: microbial biosensors; yeast; BOD; toxicuty; soil; mediator
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microbial biosensors make it possible to measure analytes through a quick, simple and convenient method. The first microbial biosensor was developed for the measurement of biochemical oxygen demand by Karube et al.

Since its invention, various types of microbial biosensors have been reported, some of which have been put to practical use in the field of environmental and soil analysis. To date, various improvements have been made to microbial biosensors in terms of their sensitivity, reproducibility, stability, specificity, and portability. Especially in the last decades, new and improved techniques have been successfully applied to microbial biosensor developments such as 3D printing for chip/cell/array or device fabrication, genetic engineering for microbial modification, materials science for microbial immobilization or signal detection, and new techniques for transducer development, etc.

On the other hand, through climate change due to global warming, the global environment is getting worse year by year. For human life to continue, we have to transform our world. In 2015, the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit adopted the “2030 Agenda” and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes several goals to which microbial biosensors are able to contribute, such as “conservation of water and soil resources”, and “preservation of food safety”, etc. Thus, scope of this Special Issue is as follows.

Scope of the Special Issue:

microbial biosensors for SDG efforts towards 2030;
application of microbial biosensors in environmental or wastewater monitoring;
application of microbial biosensors to soil estimations;
application of microbial biosensors in the agriculture, aquafarming, food, medicine, or clinical field;
micro/nanotechnology and novel materials applied to microbial biosensors
novel designs of chip/cell/arrays for microbial biosensors;
novel instrumentation systems for microbial biosensors;
new solutions applied in microbial biosensors;
interdisciplinary study leading to microbial biosensor development.

This Special Issue aims to highlight the most recent advances in microbial biosensors and participate in the development of microbial biosensors for SDG efforts towards 2030. Research papers, short communications and reviews are all welcome. If you are interested in submitting a review, it would be helpful if you would discuss this with the Guest Editor before submission.

I hope that a subsequent issue on the results of microbial biosensor development for the SDGs efforts will be published in 2031.

This Special Issue of Microbial Biosensors is dedicated to the memory of TUT President Dr. Isao Karube who passed away on 8th February, 2020 at the age of 78. At the time of his demise, he was the President of Tokyo University of Technology (TUT). I kindly convey my condolences to his family. I pray that his soul may rest in peace.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Hideaki Nakamura
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biosensors is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Environmental monitoring
Water quality analysis
Water pollution (organic pollution, heavy metal pollution, and eutrophication, etc.)
Wastewater
Soil
Food
Ecosystem

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 12270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes and the Electrocatalytic Activity of Gluconobacter oxydans as the Basis of a Biosensor

by Yulia Plekhanova, Sergei Tarasov, Aleksandr Bykov, Natalia Prisyazhnaya, Vladimir Kolesov, Vladimir Sigaev, Maria Assunta Signore and Anatoly Reshetilov

Biosensors 2019, 9(4), 137; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios9040137 - 14 Nov 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4444

Abstract

This paper considers the effect of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the parameters of Gluconobacter oxydans microbial biosensors. MWCNTs were shown not to affect the structural integrity of microbial cells and their respiratory activity. The positive results from using MWCNTs were due to a decrease in the impedance of the electrode. The total impedance of the system decreased significantly, from 9000 kOhm (G. oxydans/chitosan composite) to 600 kOhm (G. oxydans/MWCNTs/chitosan). Modification of the amperometric biosensor with nanotubes led to an increase in the maximal signal from 65 to 869 nA for glucose and from 181 to 1048 nA for ethanol. The biosensor sensitivity also increased 4- and 5-fold, respectively, for each of the substrates. However, the addition of MWCNTs reduced the affinity of respiratory chain enzymes to their substrates (both sugars and alcohols). Moreover, the minimal detection limits were not reduced despite a sensitivity increase. The use of MWCNTs thus improved only some microbial biosensor parameters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dedication to TUT President Isao Karube: Microbial Biosensors)

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11 pages, 3694 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Microalgae Biosensor Chip by Incorporating Microarray Oxygen Sensor for Pesticides Sensing

by Md. Abul Kashem, Kazuki Kimoto, Yasunori Iribe and Masayasu Suzuki

Biosensors 2019, 9(4), 133; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios9040133 - 12 Nov 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5839

Abstract

A microalgae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) biosensor chip for pesticide sensing has been developed by attaching the immobilized microalgae biofilm pon the microarray dye spots (size 100 μm and pitch 200 μm). The dye spots (ruthenium complex) were printed upon SO₃-modified glass slides using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp and a microcontact printer (μCP). Emitted fluorescence intensity (FI) variance due to photosynthetic activity (O₂ production) of microalgae was monitored by an inverted fluorescent microscope and inhibition of the oxygen generation rate was calculated based on the FI responses both before and after injection of pesticide sample. The calibration curves, as the inhibition of oxygen generation rate (%) due to photosynthetic activity inhibition by the pesticides, depicted that among the 6 tested pesticides, the biosensor showed good sensitivity for 4 pesticides (diuron, simetryn, simazine, and atrazine) but was insensitive for mefenacet and pendimethalin. The detection limits were 1 ppb for diuron and 10 ppb for simetryn, simazine, and atrazine. The simple and low-cost nature of sensing of the developed biosensor sensor chip has apparently created opportunities for regular water quality monitoring, where pesticides are an important concern. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dedication to TUT President Isao Karube: Microbial Biosensors)

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9 pages, 1250 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of 3-Chlorobenzoate 1,2-Dioxygenase Inhibition by 2- and 4-Chlorobenzoate with a Cell-Based Technique

by Elena V. Emelyanova and Inna P. Solyanikova

Biosensors 2019, 9(3), 106; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios9030106 - 05 Sep 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4353

Abstract

The electrochemical reactor microbial sensor with the Clark oxygen electrode as the transducer was used for investigation of the competition between 3-chlorobenzoate (3-CBA) and its analogues, 2- and 4-chlorobenzoate (2-CBA and 4-CBA), for 3-chlorobenzoate-1,2-dioxygenase (3-CBDO) of Rhodococcus opacus 1CP cells. The change in respiration of freshly harvested R. opacus 1CP cells in response to 3-CBA served as an indicator of 3-CBDO activity. The results obtained confirmed inducibility of 3-CBDO. Sigmoidal dependency of the rate of the enzymatic reaction on the concentration of 3-CBA was obtained and positive kinetic cooperativity by a substrate was shown for 3-CBDO. The Hill concentration constant, S_0.5, and the constant of catalytic activity, V_max, were determined. Inhibition of the rate of enzymatic reaction by excess substrate, 3-CBA, was observed. Associative (competitive inhibition according to classic classification) and transient types of the 3-CBA-1,2-DO inhibition by 2-CBA and 4-CBA, respectively, were found. The kinetic parameters such as S_0.5ⁱ and V_maxⁱ were also estimated for 2-CBA and 4-CBA. The disappearance of the S-shape of the curve of the V versus S dependence for 3-CBDO in the presence of 4-CBA was assumed to imply that 4-chlorobenzoate had no capability to be catalytically transformed by 3-chlorobenzoate-1,2-dioxygenase of Rhodococcus opacus 1CP cells. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dedication to TUT President Isao Karube: Microbial Biosensors)

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Review

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18 pages, 1584 KiB

Open AccessReview

Microbial Fuel Cell-Based Biosensors

by Yang Cui, Bin Lai and Xinhua Tang

Biosensors 2019, 9(3), 92; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/bios9030092 - 23 Jul 2019

Cited by 89 | Viewed by 11873

Abstract

The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising environmental biotechnology that has been proposed mainly for power production and wastewater treatment. Though small power output constrains its application for directly operating most electrical devices, great progress in its chemical, electrochemical, and microbiological aspects has expanded the applications of MFCs into other areas such as the generation of chemicals (e.g., formate or methane), bioremediation of contaminated soils, water desalination, and biosensors. In recent decades, MFC-based biosensors have drawn increasing attention because of their simplicity and sustainability, with applications ranging from the monitoring of water quality (e.g., biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), toxicants) to the detection of air quality (e.g., carbon monoxide, formaldehyde). In this review, we summarize the status quo of MFC-based biosensors, putting emphasis on BOD and toxicity detection. Furthermore, this review covers other applications of MFC-based biosensors, such as DO and microbial activity. Further, challenges and prospects of MFC-based biosensors are briefly discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dedication to TUT President Isao Karube: Microbial Biosensors)

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