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Microbial bioelectronic sensors for environmental monitoring

  • Review Article
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From Nature Reviews Bioengineering

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Abstract

In a world confronting pollution across diverse environments, fast, sensitive and cost-efficient methods are required to monitor complex chemicals. In particular, microbial bioelectronic sensors can report on the presence of chemicals through electrical signals enabled by biological processes. For example, microbial bioelectronic sensors have been developed for the rapid detection of riverine toxins within minutes of contact, for selective sensing of redox-active pharmaceuticals, and for monitoring of pesticide degradation. However, transferring these laboratory-tested technologies into field-deployable products poses several challenges: sensor sensitivity, specificity, longevity and robustness need to be improved. In this Review, we discuss the design of field-deployable microbial bioelectronic sensors, including chassis selection, approaches for rewiring electron transfer, strategies to establish the cell–electrode interface and fabrication methods. Importantly, we outline key challenges and possible solutions for the application of such sensors in the real world.

Key points

  • Rapid detection of pollutants demands innovations in microbial bioelectronic sensors.

  • Engineering bioelectronic sensors for environmental monitoring involves selection of a microbial chassis, rewiring of electron transfer, establishment of the cell-electrode interface and manufacture of the device.

  • A microbial chassis suited for bioelectronic sensing can be found in a range of ecosystems, and electron transfer can be rewired by controlling primary metabolism or by switching electroactive components ‘on’ and ‘off’.

  • Materials can facilitate electron transfer to an electrode and enable biocontainment.

  • Devices can be fabricated to amplify signals, remove environmental noise and minimize power consumption and footprint.

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Fig. 1: Different ways for microbes to generate electrical signals.
Fig. 2: Strategies for rewiring electron transfer for bioelectronic sensing.
Fig. 3: Strategies for establishing cell–electrode interfaces and manufacturing bioelectronic devices.
Fig. 4: Challenges and future directions for engineering microbial bioelectronic sensors.

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Acknowledgements

We thank members of the Ajo-Franklin laboratory and the Verduzco laboratory for discussions and comments. We thank J. Soman and M. Charrier for assistance in editing this manuscript. Research was sponsored by the Army Research Office (grant W911NF-22-1-0239 to C.M.A.-F). M.D.C. and S.L. were supported by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (award RR190063 to C.M.A.-F.). We acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation (EFMA—2223678).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Siliang Li & Caroline M. Ajo-Franklin

  2. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Xinyuan Zuo, Rafael Verduzco & Caroline M. Ajo-Franklin

  3. PhD Program in Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Matthew D. Carpenter

  4. Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Rafael Verduzco

  5. Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Caroline M. Ajo-Franklin

  6. Rice Synthetic Biology Institute, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Caroline M. Ajo-Franklin

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All authors contributed to conceptualization. S.L., M.D.C. and X.Z. contributed to investigation, visualization and writing of the original draft. S.L., R.V. and C.M.A.-F. contributed to writing, review and editing.

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Li, S., Zuo, X., Carpenter, M.D. et al. Microbial bioelectronic sensors for environmental monitoring. Nat Rev Bioeng (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-024-00233-x

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