EPSRC Reference: |
GR/J57339/01 |
Title: |
BIOSENSORS FOR MONITORING TOXIC METALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT |
Principal Investigator: |
Lowe, Professor CR |
Other Investigators: |
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Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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Project Partners: |
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Department: |
Institute of Biotechnology |
Organisation: |
University of Cambridge |
Scheme: |
LINK |
Starts: |
01 February 1994 |
Ends: |
31 January 1995 |
Value (£): |
49,148
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EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
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EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
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Related Grants: |
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Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
Heavy metals are a particularly serious cause of environmental pollution because of their toxicity and persistence in biological systems. Current procedures for monitoring such metals involve field sampling and processing in a central laboratory with expensive equipment. The proposed research aims to develop a user-friendly, field operable biosensor for a representative heavy metal, mercury, by coupling enzymes involved in its normal microbial detoxification mechanism to appropriate transducers. Thus, organomercurial lyase and mercuric reductase will be purified and attached to amperometric and luminometric transducers via suitable coupling systems in order to generate a biosensor responsive to both organomercurials and mercuric ions in the nM range of concentrations.
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Key Findings |
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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Impacts |
Description |
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Summary |
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Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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Project URL: |
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Further Information: |
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Organisation Website: |
http://www.cam.ac.uk |