Detection of volatile organic compounds using novel sol gel based biosensors

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Volatile organic compounds, especially aromatics and chlorinated hydrocarbons, are serious environmental pollutants and a threat to health. Natural environmental bacteria that can degrade such pollutants possess specific enzymes that can, in principle, be readily used as biosensors to detect these harmful chemicals. Sol gel technology is rapidly advancing to a stage whereby functionalised thin layer coatings may be deposited on engineering substrates and cured at ambient temperatures. This project will investigate the feasibility of combining purified enzymes with sol gel technology to create biosensors for the detection of volatile organic compounds.