Team:UFlorida/Implementation
Proposed Implementation
In late October, team Florida was able to meet with Daryll Joyner, the Program Administrator for the Water Quality Standards Development of the Florida Environmental Protection Agency, in order to discuss proposed end users of our biosensor, unforeseen upcoming challenges of distribution, and accessibility of the product. Current methods of detecting phosphorus used by the Florida Environmental Protection Agency include taking quarterly samples and sending them off to a lab, with a turn around of approximately 1 week. Our biosensor has the benefit of detecting the phosphorus levels as they change overtime, as it can be placed in water for a few hours, and then collected. Daryll said that this is a very appealing idea, as they normally calculate a geometric mean to get a measure of how phosphorus changes overtime. With our sensor, he said it would likely change the way they analyze these changes overtime, but would allow for an efficient way to characterize the changes in water quality overtime.
In order to easily collect our biosensor after a period of time, and to reduce the likeness of interfering with EPA E. coli readings, team Florida proposes that our bionsensor be put in a capsule-like membrane that separates it from the aquatic environment. This membrane will make this biosensor safer, as the E.coli cells would be separated from the water. The membrane would have a pore size of less than 2 microns to allow for nutrients and water to pass through, but it will prevent the cells from moving out and contaminating the water. This “cells in a tube” idea will allow scientists to attach a GPS tracking device and retrieve the tubes to collect data. This device could also be retrieved by attaching it to a buoy of some sort. This idea was inspired by the gel bags, termed “fat bags”, that the EPA currently uses to absorb water and capture pollutants. The issue with these gel bags, however, is that they are often tampered with. By putting our sensor in a small membrane and releasing it into a waterway, we reduce the likelihood of any malfeasance affecting detection.
Thank you Daryll for your willingness to meet with us and give us insight into the potential applications of our project!
To ensure the safety of our project, our team made it a priority to reach out to experts in scientific ethics. Dr. Anna Peterson and Dr. Jeffrey Burkhardt, both specialists in environmental ethics, counseled our team on how to implement our project goals in a way that is conscious of the impact we are having on the environment and the organisms that inhabit it. When working with a biosensor that is based on a modified E. Coli cell, they reminded us that it is imperative that we ensure that human safety is not compromised in our deployment of our biosensor. In order to address these concerns, Dr. Peterson pointed us in the direction of the precautionary principle, a set of guidelines scientists are encouraged to adhere to when performing research that directly impacts the environment. With our goal being to have a net positive impact on our waterways, by aiding in the detection of eutrophication, we have made the safety and ethics of our implementation a top priority.
Image Source: Sheng, H., Ricci, P. F., & Fang, Q. (2015). Legally binding precautionary and prevention principles: Aspects of epistemic uncertain causation. Environmental Science & Policy, 54, 185-198. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2015.06.016