Redox mediated biosensors incorporating cultured fish cells for toxicity assessment

Fish are an important genus within ecosystems, and practical sensing devices, incorporating fish cells, could be used with advantage for environmental monitoring and protection. In this paper, redox mediated biosensors were prepared by immobilizing cultured fish cells at a carbon electrode surface. EPC (from carp) and BF-2 (from bluegill sunfish) cells could be monitored by using a lipophilic mediator (e.g. 2,6-dimethylbenzoquinone) added to the solution bathing the sensor. Currents measured in the external circuit were indicative of the metabolic activity of the immobilized cells and the sensors could be used to determine the presence of chemicals within the bathing medium that perturbed their normal metabolic status. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited