The provision of adequate sanitation and safe water is a must for all the developing countries. There are a number of biological and chemical methods which are being used to ensure the safety of water for consumption. These methods are very costly, and its use is very complicated. These methods have shown an inability to function on real-time.

As the name suggests, a dual channel bacteria-based biosensor had been made in order to monitor toxic substances which are present in water. The whole process was initialized to measure water quality. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has very simple and rapid testing of the quality of water sources. The main advantage of MFCs is the high simplicity and its possibility for real-time monitoring onsite. Based on the materials which are used for the manufacturing of MFCs, it can be made very cost effective. The main motto of the technology was to obtain clean water.

Construction of Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC)

There were two biosensors which had been integrated into a dual-channel microfluidic device which was operating as a reference and detection sensor. Both the biosensors consisted of two 90µL MFCs which were single-chambered (reference and detection) along with air-cathodes which signified the configuration of the device. The sensor of the reference channel was made to calibrate the system in front of environmental changes like viscosity, pH, non-specific binding, temperature, and pressure, which influenced the bacterial metabolisms. This improved the accuracy of the measurement. 

A small-scale MFC biosensor was used to produce favorable conditions for high sensitivity to reduce the internal resistance and also the increasing mass transfer in the micro-sized chamber.

Use of Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC)

The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has been utilized as a biosensor, which is used to detect the amount of toxicity present in water. There are several toxic components which can inhibit the bacterial metabolic activity. It generates a distinct change in the output obtained by the MFC-based biosensor.

The microbial fuel cells convert the chemical energy present in the organic matter to electricity due to the metabolic processes of the micro-organisms. 

When a reference-compensated sending response was provided, the device had the capability to minimize the environmental interferences like flow rate and temperature, which led to reliability and high sensitivity in water monitoring.

The biosensors worked as a water purifier which removes toxic substances that are present in water. It makes the water safe and secure, and it reduced the number of health risks. 

Advantages of Biosensors

• Biosensors can be made compact.
• Biosensors can be potentially disposable.
• Biosensors are relatively inexpensive.
• They help with onsite monitoring of water quality.
• Provides simplified and onsite water quality monitoring.
• Due to its onsite monitoring, the cost of collecting, isolating, packaging, and transporting of the sample, which has to be analyzed, is eliminated.
• It provides with timely readings.

The biosensors are made to investigate the quality of water. There are a few other prototypes which are being used as sensors to measure the toxicity of the water. Biosensors are essential to monitoring the water quality of the water sources onsite. It is being used widely due to the reduction in cost because of its use.

Conclusion

The developing world is facing the challenge of providing clean and pure water. Due to this reason, there is a competition in the market for the best water purifier. Biosensors are the initial water purifiers. Due to the biosensors, the water quality is monitored onsite. The technology of biosensors is very helpful, and it is expected to get more and more developed with time.