Biosensor tests using bioluminescent bacteria have been in use for more than 30 years and their capability in detecting toxic substances is well understood. They use the principle that certain strains of bacteria emit light when healthy. When they are exposed to toxic substances, the amount of light emitted reduces. The greater the toxicity of the sample, the lower the light emitted. Measuring changes in light between healthy bacteria and bacteria exposed to toxic substances will therefore indicate the presence of a toxin in a sample.
Numerous independent, peer reviewed studies have demonstrated the toxicity test results have a a high degree of correlation with conventional bioassay tests such as fish, daphnia and shrimp. As a result, waste water treatment plants use toxicity tests to help ensure compliance with water treatment effluent permits, they measure toxicity in influent streams, determine treatment efficiency in industrial and municipal treatment plants and monitor processes from the raw influent to the final effluent.
KEY BENEFITS
» Biological early warning system sensitive to more than 3,500 simple and complex chemicals allows the protection of drinking water supplies from accidental or deliberate contamination.
» Test results highly correlated with other widely accepted toxicity test methods helps to ensure compliance with regulatory and effluent permit standards in wastewater pplications.
Applications
- Drilling fluids and drilling muds
- Mining, wastewater, soil and water
- Industrial effluents
- Industrial process water
- Marine water
- Medical/pharmaceutical products
- Food packaging materials
- Personal care and household chemical analysis
- Sediments
- Storm water runoff
- Solid phase materials
- Food processing water