Testing device detects toxic algae
1 Jul 2013
Experts from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have developed a device that detects the presence of toxic blue-green algae in water.
The testing kit, created by VTT and scientists from the University of Helsinki, is designed to replicate the features of a miniature laboratory.
However, the device is the size of a thermometer and it contains antibodies that react with any toxic bacteria found in a water sample.
The testing kit provides a mobile means of determining levels of toxicity
The novel approach is capable of revealing toxic blue-green algae within minutes of reacting with water.
The team has developed a method that relies on scientific analysis, rather than visual inspections alone, of the blue-green algal blooms.
The researchers suggested that approximately half of all blue-green algal blooms in lakes are toxic and harmful to humans and animals; the testing kit provides a reliable and mobile means of determining levels of toxicity.
The algae, also known as cyanobacteria, are most often found in aquatic habitats such as oceans, fresh water, damp soil and sometimes Antarctic rocks.
Researchers suggest the cyanobacteria thrive in warm water, with toxic blue-green strains forming when the surface of sea water reaches 15 degrees centigrade, forming extensive, and potentially hazardous, blooms in the Baltic Sea.
