CEC pollutants on field. It is necessary, for instance, to delineate the climatological
and geological characteristics of the area to monitor. The knowledge of environmental temperature range is also important to develop and use thermal stable
nucleic acid sensors (XNA). Temperature variations could have less influence on
bio-receptor for water monitoring, however other chemical-physics features as ionic
strength, conductivity and pH have to be considered. The application of a
nucleic-based biosensor could have different performance if applied directly a water
resource or on sampled water. The first case can necessitate the use of continuous
“on field” screening systems (early warning) to fast detect a specific analyte; the
latter application implies the use of a biosensor for the screening of a pollutant
content on sampled water in a laboratory. The performance of on field real time
systems could be influenced by the composition of the blend of organic and
inorganic pollutants. It is reasonable that nucleic-acid bioreceptor, designed for a
specific analyte could be also targeted by other compounds chemically similar to
the analyte of interest. The seasonal variation of concentration of (micro)contaminant to sense could be another aspect that can deeply influence the performance.
The development of a system for laboratory control is clearly less complicated
because it is possible to have different analytical information to characterize the
sample; in this case the main advantage of this class of biosensors is the high
sensitivity. Taking the previous concerns into account, the monitoring of PCPPs,
mostly the personal care, is rather complex because they are almost always present
at low concentration in the environment, mostly in the water. Highly sensitive
monitoring systems are necessary to control the environmental distribution of
non-pharmaceutical chemicals. Nucleic based-biosensors are a promising alternative to other biological receptors to sense these microcontaminants.
The development of multianalyte methods is a great challenge. The employment
of ad hoc nucleic acid nanoparticle (DNA, RNA origami) is one possibility, the
alternative is the use of microfluidic or lab-on-a-chip architecture to build multisensing platforms for this purpose.
The sensitivity of bio-receptor element and its functional compatibility with a
transducer surface is the first pivotal step for nucleic acid biosensor design. Here we
would like to offer a general framework about the computational aspects that could
efficiently support the design of a bio-receptor maximizing the specificity and
sensitivity for microcontaminants such as PCPPs that are assuming a real relevance
in water pollution.
References
1. Hong, S., Candelone, J. P., Patterson, C. C., & Boutron, C. F. (1994). Greenland of
hemispheric lead pollution two millennia ago by Greek and Roman civilization. Science, 265,
1841–1843.
2. Escher, B. I., Hackermüller, J., Polte, T., Scholz, S., Aigner, A., Altenburger, R., et al. (2017).
From the exposome to mechanistic understanding of chemical-induced adverse effects.
Environment International, 99, 97–106.
226
P. Arrigo and D. Baroni
and geological characteristics of the area to monitor. The knowledge of environmental temperature range is also important to develop and use thermal stable
nucleic acid sensors (XNA). Temperature variations could have less influence on
bio-receptor for water monitoring, however other chemical-physics features as ionic
strength, conductivity and pH have to be considered. The application of a
nucleic-based biosensor could have different performance if applied directly a water
resource or on sampled water. The first case can necessitate the use of continuous
“on field” screening systems (early warning) to fast detect a specific analyte; the
latter application implies the use of a biosensor for the screening of a pollutant
content on sampled water in a laboratory. The performance of on field real time
systems could be influenced by the composition of the blend of organic and
inorganic pollutants. It is reasonable that nucleic-acid bioreceptor, designed for a
specific analyte could be also targeted by other compounds chemically similar to
the analyte of interest. The seasonal variation of concentration of (micro)contaminant to sense could be another aspect that can deeply influence the performance.
The development of a system for laboratory control is clearly less complicated
because it is possible to have different analytical information to characterize the
sample; in this case the main advantage of this class of biosensors is the high
sensitivity. Taking the previous concerns into account, the monitoring of PCPPs,
mostly the personal care, is rather complex because they are almost always present
at low concentration in the environment, mostly in the water. Highly sensitive
monitoring systems are necessary to control the environmental distribution of
non-pharmaceutical chemicals. Nucleic based-biosensors are a promising alternative to other biological receptors to sense these microcontaminants.
The development of multianalyte methods is a great challenge. The employment
of ad hoc nucleic acid nanoparticle (DNA, RNA origami) is one possibility, the
alternative is the use of microfluidic or lab-on-a-chip architecture to build multisensing platforms for this purpose.
The sensitivity of bio-receptor element and its functional compatibility with a
transducer surface is the first pivotal step for nucleic acid biosensor design. Here we
would like to offer a general framework about the computational aspects that could
efficiently support the design of a bio-receptor maximizing the specificity and
sensitivity for microcontaminants such as PCPPs that are assuming a real relevance
in water pollution.
References
1. Hong, S., Candelone, J. P., Patterson, C. C., & Boutron, C. F. (1994). Greenland of
hemispheric lead pollution two millennia ago by Greek and Roman civilization. Science, 265,
1841–1843.
2. Escher, B. I., Hackermüller, J., Polte, T., Scholz, S., Aigner, A., Altenburger, R., et al. (2017).
From the exposome to mechanistic understanding of chemical-induced adverse effects.
Environment International, 99, 97–106.
226
P. Arrigo and D. Baroni