A new EU-funded project led by UCC’s Tyndall National Institute is developing cutting-edge biosensors that use bacteria to detect harmful “forever chemicals” in the marine and terrestrial environment.
“Forever chemicals” include a group of persistent pollutants known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) found in everyday items.
They are increasingly found in our environment and pose serious risks to human health and ecosystems.
Their presence threatens the integrity of natural resources and has been linked to cancer, high cholesterol, reproductive issues, hormonal disruption, and weakened immunity.
Funded by the European Commission, the BIOSENSEI project brings together ten partners from across Europe to create real-time, multiplexed, end-to-end biosensors that will detect “forever chemicals” in the environment.
BIOSENSEI is developing scalable biosensors for water and soil applications.
These sensors will use adapted microbes to detect pollutants and will be deployed in “real world settings”, the researchers say.
The cellular responses will be captured by silicon chip-based transducers, enabling highly sensitive and reliable detection.
Tyndall is a leading European deep-tech research centre in integrated ICT (Information and Communications Technology) materials, devices, circuits and systems and a research flagship of UCC.
