Comparative studies on electrochemical and laser-based fiber-optic oxygen microsensors applied to uranium contaminated biofilms.

Dissolved oxygen is one of the key parameters in biofilm systems and may show different O2 concentrations within the biofilm. The O2 concentration may also be influenced by the microbial response to the exposure of heavy metals. Oxygen sensor measurements in such biofilms are a useful tool in interpreting oxygen microprofiles, which are influenced by the microbial respiratory activity. Consequently microsensors help to evaluate on redox processes in biofilms induced by heavy metals. To compare the applicability of electrochemical and laser-based fiber-optical microsensors for microbial ecology studies, oxygen microprofiling measurements in uranium free biofilms and in biofilms exposed to ecologically relevant uranium concentration were performed. The data obtained from both microsensor methods were in good agreement up to a depth of 680 and 480 µm. To avoid the risk of destroying the sensor tip, electrochemical sensor measurements had to be stopped at this depth. In contrast, laser-based sensor measurements were acquired over an additional range of 1 mm down to the biofilm/solid glass slide interface since optodes offer a high stability against consolidated materials. Thus, additional information on the oxygen concentration in lower zones of biofilms were obtained.