Phenol Biosensor Development Using Bacillus megaterium And Pseudomonas fluorescens Microbes Consortium
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15408/jkv.v11i2.42356Keywords:
Bacillus megaterium, biosensor, cyclic voltammetry (cv), phenol, Pseudomonas fluorescensAbstract
Phenol is a toxic industrial pollutant that must be monitored at a low cost and in real-time. Conventional amperometric biosensors based on a single enzyme or a single microorganism often suffer from limited sensitivity and operational drift. Here, we report a microbial consortium biosensor that couples Bacillus megaterium, which supplies phenol-degrading enzymes and structural stability, with Pseudomonas fluorescens, whose electroactive biofilm enhances electron transfer to a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE). The electrode potential was swept at 100 mV s⁻¹ between –1 V and +1 V (i.e., a 2 V window traversed in 20 s) to capture the full redox range of phenol by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV). The oxidation peak current grew linearly with phenol concentration from 27 to 137 mg/L (R² = 0.98), giving a sensitivity of 1.30 µA mg/L and a limit of detection of 13.6 mg/L. Compared with our previously tested single-microbe sensors, the consortium lowered the LOD threefold while maintaining long-term signal stability (>30 days). These results demonstrate that complementary metabolic pathways and the conductive biofilm of P. fluorescens synergistically enhance the electrochemical response provided by B. megaterium. The consortium-based SPCE platform, therefore, offers a robust, inexpensive tool for on-site phenol monitoring in environmental and industrial settings.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Reza Mulyawan, Dyah Iswantini, Novik Nurhidayat, Deden Saprudin, Henny Purwaningsih
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