Real-time chemical gas sensing of pathogenic microorganisms pollution in wastewater

The amount of potable water on earth is limited and its quality is under constant threat due to microbiological and chemical pollutants. The proposed research's aim is the real-time wastewater microbiological pollution monitoring; through the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from the metabolism of pathogenic microorganisms, that typically contaminate water. In order to obtain these results, the innovative olfactory System Small Sensor System (S3) tool was used. The S3 is equipped with an array consisting of 6 metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) gas sensors, 3 of which prepared by thin film technology, while the other 3 constructed with the novel nanowires technology. Furthermore, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) with SPME technique was employed to correlate the VOCs detected by S3 to the indigenous pathogenic microorganisms. The efficiency of S3 device will have a key-role in a numerous application in food and environmental fields.