Development of an automated microbial sensor system

An automated whole cell biosensor system was developed by integration of im mobilized microbial cells in a flow-through system with screen-printed flow -through electrodes as detectors. The detectors used were thick-film Pt-ele ctrodes in a 3-electrode configuration constructed as sandwich flow-through cells with a volume of about 36 mu l polarized at - 900 mV. The measuring principle was the determination of oxygen consumption due to the microbial metabolism. Fructose was used as model analyte. The microorganisms were imm obilized on cellulose-acetate membranes and integrated into a newly created reaction chamber (membrane reactor). The microbial cells used were Rhodoco ccus erythropolis and Issatchenkia orientalis known to be suitable for the determination of biological oxygen demand. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. A ll rights reserved.