Abstract

Exposure to lead (II) ions can cause damage to the brain and central nervous system and is associated with a number of intellectual and behavioral disorders.  It can lead to oxygen depletion and is especially harmful to children.  While regulations limit acceptable lead levels in toys, enforcement of these laws is poor, especially overseas.  Furthermore, current detection technology for home use is expensive and unreliable.  Therefore, the goal of this project is to create a more practical, inexpensive, and reliable method to detect lead in toys using a biosensor.  To construct this biosensor, we need to engineer two DNA plasmids and insert them into Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells.  The first plasmid encodes a lead-sensitive transcriptional activator (PbR).  The second plasmid contains the reporter gene (amilCP), which will produce a blue protein when activated by PbR.  Thus, a blue color in the bacteria will signal that lead is present. This summer, we worked to engineer the reporter construct.  Currently we are adjusting our procedures as well as testing different methods to improve results. This work is ongoing, and will hopefully soon result in the creation of a functioning biosensor.  The ultimate goal of this project is to create a reliable lead biosensor that can easily be used in a household setting.