Hydrogen detector testing and design using synthetic biology and fluorescence photo analysis

Synthetic biology methods can be used to construct a biological hydrogen detector, provided a hydrogen activated promoter can be identified. The hybB operon is directly involved in the production of hydrogenase II and thus the hybB promoter may show some activity based on hydrogen presence. This report studies the relationship between hybB promoter activity and hydrogen concentration as well as the possible testing methods for a biological hydrogen detector. The hybB promoter can be placed upstream of DNA coding for a part that converts PoPS (polymerases per second) into fluorescence to create a detector with reporting ability. This engineered DNA, when inserted into an effective host, in this case E. coli, can be tested and characterised based on fluorescence. The hybB promoter, like most promoters, is not a ‘0–1’ promoter that only has a discrete ‘on’ or ‘off’ state. The range of transcription rates possible will allow quantification over a range of hydrogen concentrations. The product was tested using a digital camera and pixel analysis. This method, once perfected, will provide a method for measuring fluorescence in altered environments or in remote locations without access to a spectrophotometer.