Nanoporous gold-based microbial biosensor for direct determination of sulfide

Environmental pollution caused by sulfide compounds has become a major problem for public health. Hence, there is an urgent need to explore a sensitive, selective, and simple sulfide detection method for environmental monitoring and protection. Here, a novel microbial biosensor was developed using recombinant Escherichia coli BL21 (E. coli BL21) expressing sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (SQR) for sulfide detection. As an important enzyme involved in the initial step of sulfide metabolism, SQR oxidizes sulfides to polysulfides and transfers electrons to the electron transport chain. Nanoporous gold (NPG) with its unique properties was selected for recombinant E. coli BL21 cells immobilization, and then glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified by the resulting E. coli/NPG biocomposites to construct an E. coli/NPG/GCE bioelectrode. Due to the catalytic oxidation properties of NPG for sulfide, the electrochemical reaction of the E. coli/NPG/GCE bioelectrode is attributed to the co-catalysis of SQR and NPG. For sulfide detection, the E. coli/NPG/GCE bioelectrode showed a good linear response ranging from 50 μM to 5 mM, with a high sensitivity of 18.35 μA mM−1 cm−2 and a low detection limit of 2.55 μM. The anti-interference ability of the E. coli/NPG/GCE bioelectrode is better than that of enzyme-based inhibitive biosensors. Further, the E. coli/NPG/GCE bioelectrode was successfully applied to the detection of sulfide in wastewater. These unique properties potentially make the E. coli/NPG/GCE bioelectrode an excellent choice for reliable sulfide detection.