Discipline: Chemistry and Chemical Sciences
Subcategory: Chemistry (not Biochemistry)
Session: 3
Room: Exhibit Hall A
Ashley Vazquez Negron - University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
Co-Author(s): Dr. Liz Diaz Vazquez, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus; Jose Sohomano - Short, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
Water bodies pollution is a dangerous situation for all living beings because of the harmful effects it implies. Therefore, the development of new methods for the detection and remediation of environmental pollutants is of priority. This project aims to construct a biosensor of emerging contaminants by synthetizing a whole-cell imprinted ulvan-silica matrix to immobilize V. fischeri. Vibrio fischeri was chosen for its bioluminescence properties, which is a frequently used biosensor. To achieve this purpose, Ulvan was extracted from U. fasciata and purified. Infrared spectra of the polysaccharide showed the characteristic ulvan peaks. TEOS was chemically modified to THEOS (a modified silica precursor) and then ulvan and THEOS were used in the synthesis of a hybrid material through the sol-gel method. This material was imprinted with V. fischeri cells for its immobilization and eventual use as the biological component of a biosensor. The gels were dried with vacuum drying. SEM micrographs showed the bacterial imprint in the aerogels. To determine if V. fischeri can colonize the aerogel, we used confocal microscopy (which showed GFP-labeled V. fischeri within the matrix) and colony forming unit (CFU) quantification (which confirmed bacterial viability). The results suggest that it is possible to construct a biosensing device by immobilizing V. fischeri in an ulvan-silica matrix. For future works, the survival time and the stimuli response inside the aerogel can be tested.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF - CIRE2N Research Program (CREST)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Liz Diaz Vazquez, liz.diaz2@upr.edu
Role: Sampling of the seaweed; Extraction and purification of Ulvan polysaccharide from the seaweed; Modification of the silica precursor for the aerogel synthesis ; Aerogel synthesis; Chemical and instrumental analysis of the results