A Field-Deployable Arsenic Sensor Integrating Bacillus Megaterium with CMOS Technology

Title	A Field-Deployable Arsenic Sensor Integrating Bacillus Megaterium with CMOS Technology
Authors	Chelsea Y Hu, John B McManus, Fatemeh Aghlmand, Elin M Larsson, Azita Emami and Richard M Murray
Source	Submitted, ACS Synthetic Biology, 2024
Abstract	Bacteria innately monitor their environment by dynamically regulating gene expression to respond to fluctuating conditions. Through synthetic biology, we can harness this natural capability to design cell-based sensors. Bacillus megaterium, a soil bacterium, stands out due to its remarkable heavy metal tolerance and sporulation ability, making it an ideal candidate for heavy metal detection with low transportation costs. However, challenges persist: the synthetic biology toolkit for this strain is underdeveloped and conventional whole-cell sensors necessitate specialized laboratory equipment to read the output. In our study, we genetically modified B. megaterium for arsenic detection, establishing a detection threshold below the EPA recommendation of 10 ppb for drinking water in both vegetative cell form and spore form. Additionally, we integrated both engineered B. megaterium living cells and spores with CMOS chip for field-deployable arsenic detection. We show that the limit of detection of our integrated sensor is applicable in soil and air arsenic contamination testing. As a proof of concept, this work paves the way for deploying our sensor in resource-limited settings, ensuring real-time arsenic detection in challenging environments.
Type	Journal paper
URL	https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.07.18.604150v1
DOI	10.1101/2024.07.18.604150
Tag	Hu+24-ACSSynBio
ID	2024b
Funding	ARL Silicon-Cell
Flags	Biocircuits