Convenient ‘one-step’ extraction method for autonomous sensing of marine algal toxins

Globally, there is an increasing demand for inexpensive and robust automated environmental monitoring platforms capable of performing analysis with prolonged deployment times. In the marine environment, the ultimate goal of these platforms is to remotely monitor water quality in real-time with a system capable of detecting numerous water quality parameters like nutrient species and the presence of pollutants/contaminants. These self-sustaining platforms allow for regular automated monitoring of selected parameters at remote locations. An autonomous platform is ideal when monitoring such precarious and problematic entities as harmful algal blooms. This research focuses on the challenges surrounding the sample pre-treatment requirements of an autonomous biosensor for the detection of algal toxins specifically Microcystin-LR, and describes the development of a one-step cell lysis procedure using mechanical force by copper beads in a lysing chamber. We report a sample extraction process from seawater samples that require no prior sample clean-up.