Chemist develops biosensor that changes color when bacteria are present in water samples
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - 04:50
in Biology & Nature
A team of chemists led by Vincent M. Rotello of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a fast, simple and low-cost field test for detecting bacteria in low concentrations in drinking water using a biosensor made of gold nanoparticles, an enzyme and dye. The biosensor can detect harmful bacteria in concentrations as low as 100 cells per milliliter. Their report appears in the current online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.