Development of Selenium Nanoparticle Based Agriculture Sensor for Heavy Metal Toxicity Detection

Faheem Ahmed, Sourabh Dwivedi, Nagih M. Shaalan, Shalendra Kumar, Nishat Arshi, Adil Alshoaibi and Fohad Mabood Husain
Additional contact information
Faheem Ahmed: Department of Physics, College of Science, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Sourabh Dwivedi: Department of Applied Physics, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India
Nagih M. Shaalan: Department of Physics, College of Science, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Shalendra Kumar: Department of Physics, College of Science, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Nishat Arshi: Department of Basic Sciences, Preparatory Year Deanship, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Adil Alshoaibi: Department of Physics, College of Science, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Fohad Mabood Husain: Department of Food Science and Nutrition, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: The presence of heavy metals in increased concentrations in the environment has become a global environmental concern. This rapid increase in heavy metals in the environment is attributed to enhanced industrial and mining activities. Metal ions possess a lengthy half-life and property to bioaccumulate, are non-biodegradable and, thus, are a threat to the human health. A number of conventional spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques are being used for the detection of heavy metals, but these suffer from various limitations. Nano-based sensors have emerged as potential candidates for the sensitive and selective detection of heavy metals. Thus, the present study was focused on the synthesis of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) by using selenite-reducing bacteria in the development of a heavy metal toxicity biosensor. During the biosynthesis of selenium nanoparticles, supernatants of the overnight-grown culture were treated with Na 2 SeO 3 2 − and incubated for 24 h at 37 °C. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses. XRD and TEM results confirmed the formation of SeNPs in sizes ranging from 35 to 40 nm, with face-centered cubic (FCC) structures. The bioreduction process and validation of the formation of SeNPs was further confirmed by FTIR studies. The reduction in the biosynthesis of SeNPs using bacterial metabolite due to heavy metal cytotoxicity was analyzed by the colorimetric bioassay (SE Assay). The inhibition of selenite reduction and loss of red color in the presence of heavy metals may serve as a biosensor for heavy metal toxicity analysis. Thus, this biosensor development is aimed at improving the sensitivity and specificity of analytic detection.

Keywords: biosynthesis; heavy metal toxicity; fluorescence; nano-biosensor; XRD (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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