Development of in-situ sensors for direct quantification of metal speciation and bio-availability

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Metals in the environment can be essential to life forms and so are regarded as micronutrients, but when excessive amounts are present they may be toxic. Current measurement and assessment of the metal that is available to biota is essential for optimising agriculture and aquaculture and for assessing ecological and human health. The uptake of metals by organisms is complicated and depends on the dynamics of exchange of the various chemical forms of the metal. For a measurement tool to assess successfully the bioavailable forms of the metal it must mimic the essential characteristics of the biota. The new technique of diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) emulates some aspects of the dynamics, but it lacks some essential features of the organism. This work will introduce controlled biological features into DGT to provide two new tools that can be used in situ to assess bioavailable metals. The biological binding DGT (BBDGT) will incorporate cell cultures to enable precise mimicry of uptake from solution. The biological mobilising DGT (BMDGT) will contain microbial components that can enable the measurement of metals capable of release from colloids and particles.