Electrochemical and fiber-optic oxygen sensor measurements in uranium contaminated biofilms - a collaboration with UPPC

To compare the applicability of an electrochemical and a laser-based fiber-optical microsensor for oxygen determination in biofilm samples, microprofiling measurements in uranium free biofilms and in biofilms exposed to ecologically relevant uranium concentration were performed. For our studies we used a commercial available Clark-type microelectrode and a custom fiber-optic instrument, which was optimized for tip probes < 10 µm (optodes) by use of a diode laser and the so-called two frequency phase modulation technique, to mask interfering background fluorescence.
The data obtained from both microsensor methods in uranium free and uranium contaminated biofilms were in good agreement. Fiber-optic and electrochemical microsensor measurements showed high concentrations of oxygen over the total thickness of the uranium free biofilms. In contrast, biofilms exposed to uranium revealed a much lower oxygen concentration in the upper layers of the biofilm. At a biofilm depth of approximately 750 µm no oxygen was detectable at all.