In this paper, we describe a culture-based biochip for detecting microorganisms in environmental samples in an improved, timesaving, and cost-efficient manner. The biochips use the paraffinophilic nature of microorganisms to rapidly detect and differentiate them in sewage samples collected from wastewater treatment plants. A new method of depositing paraffin was developed in order to fabricate such biochips. The developed technique uses butanol solvent to keep paraffin liquid during deposition by spin-coating and thick photoresist for patterning. Using this approach, 18 mm glass biochips with paraffin layers of 5-70 µm have been successfully fabricated. These biochips were used to demonstrate rapid, 5-min detection of microorganisms responsible for reactor foaming in wastewater treatment.
- Bioassay,
- Biochips,
- Microarrays,
- Microorganisms,
- Photoresists,
- Plants (botany),
- Reclamation,
- Sewage,
- Sewage treatment plants,
- Cost-efficient,
- Environmental sample,
- Glass biochips,
- mycobacteria,
- Thick photoresists,
- Wastewater treatment plants,
- Wastewater treatment,
- mycobacteria,
- paraffin
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/daniel_oerther/39/