Electrochemical Biosensing of Algal Toxins

Due to harmful algal blooms, the production of cyanotoxins have become a public and global concern worldwide. This problem has occurred more frequently, owing to global warming, and especially as a result of eutrophication from wastewater, fertilizers, earth movement, fossil fuels, and improper solid waste management. Several cyanobacteria produce dangerous and persistent toxins that can contaminate water bodies, restricting this resource for consumption or recreation. These toxins are capable of producing fatal diseases at the neurological, cardiological, muscular, hepatic, respiratory, and intestinal levels, which can present their harmful effects in a short time. For this reason, several regulations and detection methods have been developed, for control and analysis. However, control requires expensive equipment, such as liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer, and highly qualified staff. In this context, owing to the impact of these toxins because of their quick action, a great interest in electrochemical detection methods has arisen, especially the development of biosensors, because they are inexpensive, simple to use, and fast to perform. In this chapter, the recent progress in algal toxins detection using electrochemical biosensors has been approached, so the overall system is covered by components, such as electrochemical transduction, supporting materials and electrodes, recognition receptors, building, and detection mechanisms.