The development of a new biosensor based on recombinant E. coli for the direct detection of organophosphorus neurotoxins.

A new biosensor for the direct detection of organophosphorus (OP) neurotoxins has been developed utilizing cryoimmobilized, recombinant E. coli cells capable of hydrolyzing a wide spectrum of OP pesticides and chemical warfare agents. The biological transducer was provided by the enzymatic hydrolysis of OP neurotoxins by organophosphate hydrolase which generates two protons through a reaction in which P-O, P-F, P-S or P-CN bonds are cleaved, and the proton release corresponded with the quantity of organophosphate hydrolyzed. This stoichiometric relationship permitted the creation of a potentiometric biosensor for detection of OP neurotoxins and a pH-based assay was developed as a direct function of the concentration of OP neurotoxins and the immobilized biomass. In these studies utilizing paraoxon as the substrate, neurotoxin concentration was determined with two different types of measuring units containing immobilized cells: (1) a stirred batch reactor; and (2) a flow-through column minireactor. A pH glass electrode was used as the physical transducer. The linear detection range for paraoxon spanned a concentration range of 0.25-250 ppm (0.001-1.0 mM). The response times were 10 min for the batch reactors and 20 min for the flow-through systems. It was possible to use the same biocatalyst repetitively for 25 analyses with a 10 min intermediate washing of the biocatalyst required for reestablishing the starting conditions. The cryoimmobilized E. coli cells exhibited stable hydrolytic activity for over 2 months under storage in 50 mM potassiumphosphate buffer at +4 degrees C and provide the potential for the development of a stable biotransducer for detecting various OP neurotoxins.