Sol-gel silica platforms for microalgae-based optical biosensors

Mercedes Perullini (1) , Yannis Ferro (2) , Claude Durrieu (2) , Matias Jobbagy (1) , Sara A. Bilmes (1)

1 INQUIMAE - Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía [Buenos Aires]
2 Équipe 5 - Impacts des Polluants sur les Écosystèmes

An advanced hybrid biosensing platform with improved optical quality is developed based on the acidic encapsulation of microalgi in silica matrices synthesized by TAFR (tetraethoxysilane derived alcohol free route). The three microalgi (Chlorella vulgaris, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) were previously immobilized in alginate following the two-step procedure. Tuning the alginate protecting function with the aid of Tris-HC1 buffer, the sol-gel synthesis was conducted at pH 4.0 well below the tolerance limit imposed by the encapsulated microalgae. The acidic condensation of Si(IV) generates silica matrices with outstanding optical properties that suit the requirements of biosensors based on optical detection methods. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Sol–gel; Optical quality; Biosensor; Microalgae; Esterase activity

Domains: Environmental Sciences; Biodiversity and Ecology

Mercedes Perullini, Yannis Ferro, Claude Durrieu, Matias Jobbagy, Sara A. Bilmes. Sol-gel silica platforms for microalgae-based optical biosensors. Journal of Biotechnology, 2014, 179, pp.65-70. ⟨10.1016/j.jbiotec.2014.02.007⟩. ⟨hal-01077184⟩