2024-02-02 10:15:37
A low-cost kit has been created to measure the presence of cyanotoxins in freshwater bodies. It is a tool for a public and environmental health problem that is growing in many parts of the world.
This innovation, which was the winner in the “Applied Research” category at the INNOVAR 2023 Awards, is the work of researchers from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), both institutions in Argentina.
There are certain projects that are born from a social demand. “You have to work with cyanotoxins because it is a problem that is increasing and cannot be measured,” colleagues from the National Water Institute (INA) and other organizations told Javier Gasulla, a researcher at CONICET and the Laboratory of Genomics and Biological Systems Engineering from the Institute of Biosciences, Biotechnology and Translational Biology of the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the UBA.
This is how, based on a previous project focused on measuring arsenic in water (SensAR), the team decided to create CIANOTOX, a kit to quickly detect cyanotoxins present in lagoons, rivers and reservoirs. A simple and effective solution to an environmental and public health problem.
“We saw that in Argentina and in the region these toxins were not monitored because the methods are very expensive. A cheaper alternative was needed, which is why this idea arose from user demand. At the same time there were places where very little was still known, because it is indeed a problem that started a few years ago but is increasing,” Gasulla told the CTyS-UNLaM Agency.
Javier Gasulla with the CIANOTOX kit. (Photo: Luiza Cavalcante)
Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms that contain chlorophyll, which allows them to carry out photosynthesis. This is why they are identified as blue-green algae that form a layer of mucus on the surface. They are present in fresh, salty, brackish waters and mixed areas of estuaries. Additionally, many species of cyanobacteria produce toxins that dissolve in water, which is why the World Health Organization classified them as an emerging health problem.
Although these organisms are naturally present in all bodies of water, their appearance is intensified during flowering times, when they have an excess of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. “Many times this happens due to population growth that increases the discharge of sewage effluents or household waste, due to the increase in temperature as a result of climate change that accelerates the process, as well as another major factor is the use of fertilizers and agrochemicals that end up being dumped. in the water,” explained the biochemist.
“By monitoring, health can be protected and, at the same time, not have a negative economic impact due to loss of livestock or suspension of recreational activities in rivers or lagoons,” said the specialists who are part of the research group.
Cyanotoxins present acute toxicity, which in humans can lead to gastrointestinal diseases. In animals, on the other hand, prolonged exposure can cause liver cancer. “There is a clear public health problem that also generates a large mortality of fish and animals such as livestock that may drink water in the contaminated area,” Gasulla explained.
“CIANOTOX becomes an early warning solution with precision to know when there are toxins and you cannot navigate or bathe in these waters, or when you can frequent them without problems,” concluded the expert.
In 2023, CIANOTOX was awarded in the “Applied Research” category of the INNOVAR Contest, organized by the then Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Nation, which highlights, among its objectives, promoting innovation to promote and promote inventions. high social and commercial impact.
“We are proud to have received this distinction because all of this started very easily, with almost no resources. This, for us, is a first great recognition. In November we had our first sales and we are happy because the idea was for it to be accessible but above all, for it to be useful for society and for decision makers,” Gasulla highlighted.
The team announced that, by 2024, they hope to be able to adapt, together with the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires and the Undersecretariat of Water Resources, the “cyano traffic light”, a device that already works to photographically monitor the bodies of water in the province but that, Adding your field of experience, you will also be able to measure the level of cyanobacteria and issue the corresponding alerts.
In addition to Javier Gasulla, doctoral fellow Ezequiel Alba Posse and Alejandro Nadra, Director of the Laboratory and the Institute, are part of the CIANOTOX team. (Source: Agustina Lima / CTyS-UNLaM Agency)
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