(157b) On Chip Electrochemical Detection of Biomarkers for Detection of Water Borne Toxins

Clean water is not a luxury but a necessity. While clean water is bountiful in the United States, the same cannot be said for developing countries. It would be advantageous to not only monitor water quality without the constraints of a laboratory but to be able to pinpoint specific organs that might be at risk. The devices presented offer such a solution by combining microfluidics with electrochemical detection to monitor real time response of organs to water borne toxins. This research builds on recent scientific advances in microfabrication of human organ structures to further create new simulated organs containing the relevant chemical functionality that mimics the toxic responses as well as detection schemes to measure assault of toxins in specific organs. Organs of interest (heart, liver, etc) are mounted within separate parallel channels with a glass/PDMS device. Water samples are injected into the device and partitioned between the different organ cultures. Protein modified (Cytochrome C) electrodes positioned beneath each channel are then used to monitor the release of superoxide (a biomarker for toxin assault). By supplying a specific potential, the concentration of superoxide present can be monitored amperometrically. Advances towards this device will be presented including response, calibration and figures of merit.