MONITORING BIODEGRADABLE SUBSTANCES WITH HIGH-MOLECULAR CONTENT WITH A MICROBIAL SENSOR

Microbial sensors utilizing microorganisms that are in immediate conta ct with a transducer, which converts the biochemical signal into a qua ntifiable electrical response signal, are used for sensitive determina tions of a large spectrum of substances, especially in the field of en vironmental monitoring. A commercially available BOD sensor for the de tection of biodegradable pollution was employed in the marshes of Mai Po WWF Nature Reserve area in Hong Kong. The sensor response was at fi rst very low due to the presence of substances with high molecular con tent compared with the result of the standard 5-day BOD red. Therefore , pretreatment of the sample was conducted and good correlation betwee n the result of the standard method and the BOD sensor was found.