Multi-bacteria based BioMEMS to measure the bod parmeter of polluted waters

International audienceThe quantity of chemical pollutants of water is classically evaluated by measuring and comparing the dissolved oxygen during five days; the parameter BOD5 (Biological Oxygen Demand) synthesizes these measurements. In this work, we develop a new approach by associating microsystem technologies and biological techniques to obtain more precise value of BOD in a shorter time. The bioMEMS chip developed for this purpose has been designed as a poly-wells microfluidic device, and fabricated by combining PDMS and glass materials. To quantify the organic pollutants, we use special-ized bacteria and their oxygen consumption to evaluate the pollutants concentrations. The monitor-ing of bacterial activity is ensured by optical sensors reported on each chamber of the instrumented device. The first results show that the microsystem approach is suitable to measure simultaneously different organic pollutants present in water, and that it is possible to reduce the time analysis