SBIR Phase I: A low-cost real-time bio-electrochemical nitrate sensor for surface water monitoring

SBIR 第一阶段：用于地表水监测的低成本实时生物电化学硝酸盐传感器

• 批准号: 1046608
• 负责人: Justin Buck
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: Cambrian Innovation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-01-01 至 2011-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1046608&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; low; cost; real

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a revolutionary, low-cost, real-time, amperometric sensor technology based on bio-electrochemical systems. The proposed device utilizes exo-electrogen microbes to detect levels of target substances, primarily nitrate and oxygen. The sensor takes advantage of highly specific biological processes and the capability of certain microbes to transfer electrical current directly to electrodes. Because of the nature of the design, the sensor is low cost, requires no additional power, and continuously self-regenerates. These capabilities will enable sensors to be deployed in remote locations to monitor nitrate and oxygen levels in a network spanning large geographical regions. The broader/commercial impacts of this research are in the environmental management, agricultural, and defense sectors. Nitrate levels in US waterways have increased dramatically in the past half-century. Nitrate in surface water run-off from agriculture activities is a particularly serious environmental problem, creating large anoxic dead zones and straining fisheries. Tracing this pollutant is difficult because existing sensors are very expensive or short-lived and cannot cover wide areas. Maintaining optimized levels of nitrate in sustainable precision agriculture not only reduces environmental impact, it is also a critical economic issue - nitrate monitoring in run-off from cropland can help to maximize yields while minimizing expensive fertilizer inputs. Finally, once proven for nitrates, the patented sensor concept has the potential to be adapted to other substances by utilizing additional capabilities of exo-electrogenic bacteria, thus producing a new class of amperometric sensors based on bio-electrochemical phenomena.

该小型企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目将展示基于生物电化学系统的革命性、低成本、实时电流传感器技术的可行性。所提出的装置利用外产电微生物来检测目标物质（主要是硝酸盐和氧气）的水平。该传感器利用高度特异性的生物过程和某些微生物将电流直接传输到电极的能力。由于设计的本质，该传感器成本低廉，不需要额外的电源，并且可以持续自我再生。这些功能将使传感器能够部署在偏远地区，以监测跨越大地理区域的网络中的硝酸盐和氧气水平。这项研究的更广泛/商业影响涉及环境管理、农业和国防部门。在过去的半个世纪中，美国水道中的硝酸盐含量急剧增加。农业活动产生的地表水径流中的硝酸盐是一个特别严重的环境问题，会造成大片缺氧死区并使渔业紧张。追踪这种污染物很困难，因为现有的传感器非常昂贵或寿命短，并且无法覆盖大范围。在可持续精准农业中保持最佳的硝酸盐水平不仅可以减少对环境的影响，而且也是一个关键的经济问题——农田径流中的硝酸盐监测有助于最大限度地提高产量，同时最大限度地减少昂贵的化肥投入。最后，一旦针对硝酸盐得到证实，该专利传感器概念就有可能通过利用外产电细菌的附加功能来适应其他物质，从而产生一类基于生物电化学现象的新型电流传感器。