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Master's thesis project: RAINBOWflow CHIPonline fish cell-based impedance sensor to monitor water quality
We are developing a biosensor of fish cells on a microfluidic chip for water quality monitoring by impedance sensing. We will construct a water mixing unit, miniaturise the system, and enable remote control & online data viewing. After prototyping in the lab, the system will be tested on lake Geneva
Biological water quality monitoring serves to assess the environmental state of water bodies to protect organisms living therein as well as to ensure safe water use by humans. Fish are one of the most sought after organisms to monitor for their survival and health because of their well-documented role in food web structures and their link to humans. Yet, water quality monitoring with fish is not only cumbersome and costly – it also consumes many fish, in fact millions every year.
On this background, we are developing a biosensor for automated water quality testing using live fish cells (an intestinal cell line from rainbow trout) seeded on a chip with six microfluidic channels for impedance sensing. The working principle is that cells attach to the electrodes and form a monolayer covering the bottom surface of the flow-through channel. If a current is applied, the resistance can be measured and interpreted as a function of cell viability; if cells are viable there is resistance, if cells are dying, for example due to toxic compounds in the water, they detach from electrodes and resistance decreases.
Biological water quality monitoring serves to assess the environmental state of water bodies to protect organisms living therein as well as to ensure safe water use by humans. Fish are one of the most sought after organisms to monitor for their survival and health because of their well-documented role in food web structures and their link to humans. Yet, water quality monitoring with fish is not only cumbersome and costly – it also consumes many fish, in fact millions every year.
On this background, we are developing a biosensor for automated water quality testing using live fish cells (an intestinal cell line from rainbow trout) seeded on a chip with six microfluidic channels for impedance sensing. The working principle is that cells attach to the electrodes and form a monolayer covering the bottom surface of the flow-through channel. If a current is applied, the resistance can be measured and interpreted as a function of cell viability; if cells are viable there is resistance, if cells are dying, for example due to toxic compounds in the water, they detach from electrodes and resistance decreases.
This system is already functionable in the lab, but we need to adapt it to take it to the field and measure water quality on location. For this, we need to assemble a portable, miniaturized, simple impedance analyser, construct a mixing unit in which water is automatically filter-sterilised and mixed with a buffer to obtain isotonic conditions prior to exposure of cells on the chip, in a temperature-controlled system. After prototype testing in the lab we will then test and adjust the device on the LéXPLORE platform on lake Geneva from June to August 2020. In addition, we would like to programme the functioning of the unit so that it can be remotely controlled, with automatic analysis and visualisation of the data, which are accessible online.
This project is being carried out in the Department Environmental Toxicology at Eawag, Dübendorf, and supervised by Prof. Philippe Renaud from the Microsystems Laboratory 4 at EPFL. It is possible to carry this project out from anywhere, with occasional visits to Eawag and EPFL.
PLEASE NOTE THAT NO FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE. Students need to be able to cover their own living expenses.
This is a great opportunity to develop your engineering skills whilst working on an applied project in biology/ecotoxicology, and to get out into the field; if the RAINBOWflow CHIPonline proves operable on LéXPLORE, it should be ready to use for water quality monitoring in the field, e.g. along effluent inlets in rivers and lakes.
This system is already functionable in the lab, but we need to adapt it to take it to the field and measure water quality on location. For this, we need to assemble a portable, miniaturized, simple impedance analyser, construct a mixing unit in which water is automatically filter-sterilised and mixed with a buffer to obtain isotonic conditions prior to exposure of cells on the chip, in a temperature-controlled system. After prototype testing in the lab we will then test and adjust the device on the LéXPLORE platform on lake Geneva from June to August 2020. In addition, we would like to programme the functioning of the unit so that it can be remotely controlled, with automatic analysis and visualisation of the data, which are accessible online.
This project is being carried out in the Department Environmental Toxicology at Eawag, Dübendorf, and supervised by Prof. Philippe Renaud from the Microsystems Laboratory 4 at EPFL. It is possible to carry this project out from anywhere, with occasional visits to Eawag and EPFL. PLEASE NOTE THAT NO FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE. Students need to be able to cover their own living expenses.
This is a great opportunity to develop your engineering skills whilst working on an applied project in biology/ecotoxicology, and to get out into the field; if the RAINBOWflow CHIPonline proves operable on LéXPLORE, it should be ready to use for water quality monitoring in the field, e.g. along effluent inlets in rivers and lakes.