Continuous monitoring of estuarine systems, such as Narragansett Bay, remains in its infancy. Living biosensors capable of sensitive and specific detection of low levels of bioavailable nitrogen could provide a new and innovative approach to monitoring nitrate fluctuations in estuarine systems in real time. The design and evaluation of a fully modular, scalable sensor system based on an optical sensing element and a nitrate sensing bio-reporter will be described. Preliminary characterizations of the sensor robustness and sensitivity will also be reported for nitrate standards and estuarine water samples.
RI NSF EPSCoR is supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation under EPSCoR Cooperative Agreements #OIA-2433276 and in part by the RI Commerce Corporation via the Science and Technology Advisory Committee [STAC]. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation, the RI Commerce Corporation, STAC, our partners or our collaborators.