Detection of hexahydro-1,3-5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) with a microbial sensor.

Detection of hexahydro-1,3-5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) with a microbial sensor. J Gen Appl Microbiol. 2019 Jan 29;: Authors: Eberly JO, Mayo ML, Carr MR, Crocker FH, Indest KJ Abstract Explosives such as hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) are common contaminants found in soil and groundwater at military facilities worldwide, but large-scale monitoring of these contaminants at low concentrations is difficult. Biosensors that incorporate aptamers μ with high affinity and specificity for a target are a novel way of detecting these compounds. This work describes novel riboswitch-based biosensors for detecting RDX. The performance of the RDX riboswitch was characterized in Escherichia coli using a range of RDX concentrations from 0-44 μmol l-1. Fluorescence was induced at RDX concentrations as low as 0.44 μmol l-1. The presence of 4.4 μmol l-1 RDX induced an 8-fold increase in fluorescence and higher concentrations did not induce a statistically significant increase in response. PMID: 30700648 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of General and Applied Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Tags: J Gen Appl Microbiol Source Type: research