New sensors monitor wastewater bacteria

U.S. engineers say they’ve created sensors that can constantly monitor the health of bacteria critical to wastewater treatment facilities.

The Purdue University researchers said their new technology senses minute changes in chemistry related to bacterial health and yields results immediately. Current conventional technologies require laboratory analyses taking at least a day.

This immediacy could make it possible to detect when bacteria are about to stop processing waste and correct the problem before toxins are released into waterways, said Eric McLamore, a postdoctoral research associate in civil engineering.

The engineers said their new technique is a departure from conventional methods because established techniques require bacterial biofilms be damaged or destroyed in order to be tested.

It’s important to monitor intact living specimens to obtain accurate data, and our approach is both non-invasive and a real-time technique, said Associate Professor Marshall Porterfield.

The project is to be reported in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering.