Rajib Majumder, Author at Adamas University

#BiotechNext Severe Scarcity of Potable Water in the New Normal: The quest for a solution with Biotechnology

Student Contributors:

Abikhit Chatterjee, M.Sc. Biotechnology, Sem-II, SoLB, AU
Maitreyee Sengupta, B.Sc. Biotechnology, Sem-IV, SoLB, AU

The Fact:

“Water water everywhere, nor any drop to drink”
― Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Source: https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/water/

The above-quoted line is depicting the level of difficulty that we are expecting to face shortly. Though we know that our earth’s surface is covered by 2/3^rd of water but out of this 2/3^rd, only 3% of water is suitable for drinking purposes. Many arid regions in the world are already in a critical condition, facing the difficulty of the scarcity of freshwater resources and the need for additional water supplies is increasing day by day and it will be increasing to a much higher rate in the coming future.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), washing hands with soap and water is one of the most effective and useful methods we can take to prevent the spread of pathogens and prevent infections. Even it is found to be very effective in stopping the spread of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Hence, the demand for safe water is going to increase day by day.

Figure 1: Projected freshwater use in global scenario

According to a survey report carried out in 2019, there are around 2.1 billion people that are living without a proper supply of safe drinking water in their homes and this problem will be increasing soon and by around 2050, there will be a severe shortage of freshwater sources and out of every 4 people, 1 people will be residing in an area having a severe shortage of freshwater sources (https://www.worldvision.org/).

Out of several goals set by the United Nations (UN) in 2018 to overcome this situation, the goal number 6 was to ensure that all the people residing in this huge world should have proper access to water and sanitization. Every day, thousands of death cases are being reported and as per the report it can be seen that death is occurring mostly in children and the main reason behind this death is the unavailability of proper drinking water and sanitization (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/).

This is to be noted that, March 22 is celebrated as World Water Day by the United Nations to measure the progress rate that the world is making in providing safe water for drinking and hygiene purpose to the people. The United Nations General Assembly, in December 2016 adopted a resolution “International Decade (2018-2028) for Action –Water for Sustainable Development”. It was adopted to mainly help in putting a greater focus on water for the coming ten years (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-action-decade/).

Recent statistics say, approximately 6 liters of water per minute is being used by a running tap. A normal hand washing for 20-30 seconds, can use approximately 3.5 liters of water if the tap is kept on or it can use approximately 2 liters of water if the tap is kept closed while scrubbing our hands with soap. A family comprising of five members would spend approximately 100-200 liters of water per day only to wash their hands 10 times a day as compared to 4-5 times hand washing a day as usual.

Figure 2: Use of water in day to day life

Does Biotechnology have a solution to combat the situation?

Our lifespan would last for approximately 14 days without water. Our entire survival is closely dependent on one single, exhaustible natural resource. Biotechnology has a large impact on industries such as the plant, agriculture, and pharmaceutical sector, but its role in water technology is ready for the new beginning.

The major sources of drinking water are surface water and groundwater. Both forms of water are generally not safe at the source and require some form of treatment to consider it as potable. Hence, water treatment technology is an area of vital importance in the global as well as Indian context and it is of utmost importance for any government to launch missions on environmental biotechnology, to meet the basic needs of safe and pure drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities for the people.

Certain cutting-edge technologies are available for the treatment of raw water supplies, for industry or large communities are the following:

Desalination:

There are only a few underground resources available but the water is becoming saline day by day due to the extraction of water from aquifers. However, to produce rain naturally, which is the main source of freshwater on earth, a process known as solar desalination evaporation is carried out.

Saline water can be made into freshwater, which has many uses. The process is termed as “desalination”, and it is being used often around the world to provide people with needed freshwater. The major challenge is to remove the dissolved salt in seawater. Now Floating distillation is a technique in which a machine that is named as ‘floating solar still’ is based on. That uses the mechanism of evaporation and condensation.

Reverse osmosis (RO):

Another way to desalinize the seawater is by the “reverse osmosis” procedure. In simple language, water, which contains dissolved salt molecules, is run through a semipermeable membrane against osmotic pressure (which is a filter), in which the larger salt molecules do not get through the membrane holes but the smaller water molecules do.

Forward Osmosis (FO):

FO is an emerging water filtration/purification technology that uses an osmotic pressure difference to drive water across a semipermeable membrane. Due to its potential applications in several areas, including food and drug preparation, desalination and power production, research on FO membranes has increased exponentially.

Electrodialysis (ED):

ED utilizes electric current to separate ions from water. ED consists of different cell compartments separated by selective ion exchange membranes; under applied direct current, the ions move toward the electrodes by passing through these selectively permeable membranes.

Nanotechnology in Water Purification:

Membrane-based water purification is an energy and waste efficient method to remove molecular pollutants. ‘Increased water throughput, high filter efficiency, and high molecular loading capacity are the primary aim for designing water membrane-based purification.

Biomimetic nanotechnology would be a promising technology for water purification:

Various types of channel proteins, broadly named porins, present in the cell membrane of Gram-negative bacteria have specific functionalities depending on their selectivity toward various nutrients or toward the water. The high selectivity of porins has led to their incorporation into synthetic systems, in a field called “biomimetics”. The concept of incorporating aquaporins into synthetic membranes has been observed in recent years. Hence, the next generation of water filtration technology is about to improve using biomimetic membranes.

In summary, India had always nurtured creative research minds who always came up with a solution in the time of crisis. The future of biomimetic and bioinspired membranes depends on the design strategies, level of nature imitation, and the performance of these systems on a commercial scale. In this blog, we have compiled some of the best water technology and water treatment companies in India such as VА Тесh Wаbаg, Тhеrmах Іndіа, GE Wаtеr, Siemens India – Water Technologies, Аquа Іnnоvаtіvе Ѕоlutіоnѕ, Suez Water Technologies & Solutions, Iоn Eхсhаngе Іndіа Ltd, Toshiba Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Wipro Water, etc. They all are doing a fantastic job of making our society better by providing safe water and there will be an enormous scope of the job for the biotechnologist soon.

Further reading:

Fowler, S. J., & Smets, B. F. (2017). Microbial biotechnologies for potable water production. Microbial biotechnology, 10(5), 1094-1097.

Kirisits, M. J., Emelko, M. B., & Pinto, A. J. (2019). Applying biotechnology for drinking water biofiltration: advancing science and practice. Current opinion in biotechnology, 57, 197-204.

Wagh, P., & Escobar, I. C. (2019). Biomimetic and bioinspired membranes for water purification: A critical review and future directions. Environmental progress & sustainable energy, 38(3), e13215.

Fuwad, A., Ryu, H., Malmstadt, N., Kim, S. M., & Jeon, T. J. (2019). Biomimetic membranes as potential tools for water purification: Preceding and future avenues. Desalination, 458, 97-115.

CRISPR tool based detection of Covid-19 Final

A novel, quicker and economical ‘Dip-strip’ methods of Covid-19 detection based on CRISPR technology: The limitless scope of research in the Biotechnology sector

Student Contributor: Sayantan Das & Srijit Bera (B.Sc Biotechnology Sem-VI)

The landscape of Covid-19: Since December 2019, the Covid-19 has affected more than 3.5 million individuals globally with a case-fatality rate of more than 6% (data taken up to 30^th April 2020) reported. Experience from China, Italy, UK, France, and the USA demonstrated that Covid-19 can overwhelm even the healthcare capacities of well-resourced countries where man-to-man disease transmission has been reported with mild or no symptoms.

The challenges: The biggest problem is that the virus is evolving continuously and several varieties have already been identified by scientists all over the world. Since there were no gold standard medicinal treatments available to date, interventions have focused only on contact tracing, quarantine, and physical distancing.

Since the initial pandemic wave, few countries like India have implemented physical distancing measures as a mandate according to the China model. Furthermore, in each time this emerging viral threat has hindered the public health response due to a lack of rapid, accurate, and accessible molecular diagnostics. However, whether the virus can potentially be transmitted in other ways than by respiratory droplets is still unknown to scientists.

Present detection: This has to be noted that this novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is a positive-stranded RNA virus. Hence, the Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs typically has been used to confirm the presence of this virus and recommended by several laboratories, including the CDC and WHO. RT-PCR tests are rather quick, sensitive and can produce results in 3 to 4 hours, although this usually takes much longer time when samples are to be sent to specialized external laboratories (6-8 hours on average).

Though serological tests are fast and need minimal equipment but their usefulness might be limited for diagnosis of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection as it may take a couple of days to weeks following the start of symptoms in patients to get a measurable antibody response. The Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) is an immunoassay test that detects viral proteins (antigens) (Figure 1). Though this technique is fast but evidentially, it gives negative results for some cases. Moreover, RDTs can be damaged by heat and humidity, so an RDT should not be removed from its sealed packet until right before you are ready to use it otherwise it may show an invalid (false) result. Hence, there was an urgent need globally to develop a rapid testing tool for diagnostics.

The alternative: Among all the temporary procedures for virus detection, CRISPR based detection of microbial DNA/RNA has provided a quicker and economical alternative to RDT and RT-PCR. CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a type of DNA sequence found in bacteria when they are previously infected by a specific variety of viruses called ‘bacteriophages’ to reproduce. Hence, these sequences are considered to be the anti-phage (i.e. antiviral) defense system of bacteria (or immune system for bacteria against phage viruses). The CRISPR mechanism relies on the guide RNA finding its complementary target sequence and the commonly used Cas9 nuclease (a type of molecular scissors) is cutting at the precise site. Together with CRISPR-associated proteins (or Cas), this “CRISPR-Cas” cutting-edge technology has been stated using to edit genes within organisms, development of biotechnology products, correcting genetic defects, improving crops, detection, and treatment of diseases and many more with immense scope of research for biotechnologists in India and abroad.

The DETECTIVES for Covid-19 detection:

The SHERLOCK Technology for Coronavirus Detection:

In 2017, Feng Zhang’s group from the USA first reported a CRISPR-based nucleic acid detection technique called SHERLOCK (Specific High sensitivity Enzymatic Reporter unLOCKing). In their latest research came in February 2020, they targeted two genes (S gene and Orf1ab) from the SARS-CoV-2 genome.

The SHERLOCK detection technique for Covid-19 detection involves three steps:

Firstly, the amplification of the viral RNA using recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) technique followed by in vitro transcription of amplified DNA back into RNA.
Secondly, they detected viral RNA using Cas13 nuclease and Synthego-supplied crRNA (CRISPR RNA) targeting specific sequences.
Finally, they could read out the visual color change using a commercially-available paper dip-strip, which captures the cleaved RNA with labeled ends on specific antibody bands.

These two nucleases (Cas12a and Cas13a) have become popular in CRISPR diagnostics while Cas12a is DNA-specific, Cas13a works with RNA. An interesting feature of Cas12 and Cas13 nucleases is that they showed collateral cutting activity. On finding the target, the nucleases will cut other non-targeted nucleic acid molecules in the vicinity as well.

The researchers demonstrated that they could use this protocol to detect coronavirus RNA sequences with a sensitivity of 10-100 copies/microliter of the input sample. They note that this technology can be used for testing RNA purified from patient samples in ‘less than an hour’ without the need for special instrumentation like real-time PCR.

The DETECTR Technology for Coronavirus Detection:

In 2018, Mammoth Biosciences reported a new method named DETECTR (DNA Endonuclease-Targeted CRISPR Trans Reporter), for sensitive DNA detection using Cas12a nuclease. In March 2020, Mammoth Biosciences published a report on how the DETECTR platform could be adapted to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in just 30 minutes. Such a rapid diagnostic platform would be particularly valuable in high-risk areas.

The DETECTR detection protocol for Covid-19 virus detection involves following steps:

Amplification of the RNA extracted from the sample using reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) technique followed by Cas12a-based detection for viral N gene and E gene.
Detection of DNA using Cas12a and Synthego-supplied crRNA targeting specific sequences.
Visual readout using commercially available dip-strips. In the lateral flow-strip assay, a positive result will detect at least one of the two SARS-CoV-2 viral gene targets (N gene or E gene).

Comparing their methods to the SHERLOCK-based protocol, the Mammoth Biosciences team noted that their platform enabled faster detection (30 instead of 60 minutes) as they saved the time spent on the additional IVT (in vitro transcription) steps required for Cas13a-based detection. These techniques could detect Covid-19 much faster than the conventional RT-PCR technique (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Comparison between these three techniques for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

Where we are?

India had always nurtured creative research minds who always came up with a solution in the time of crisis. Recently, the scientists at the CSIR-IGIB have also developed a quicker (take less than 40 minutes for detection) and economical (~Rs. 500/- per sample detection) with high accuracy CRISPR based method that will not require any expensive machines for detection of SARS-CoV-2. They named their invention “FELUDA”, the detective character introduced by the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The CRISPR-FnCas9 based Dip-strips tests have been developed by the team members of Dr. Debojyoti Chakraborty and Dr. Souvik Maity as a simpler way of detecting SARS-CoV-2.

“Necessity is the Mother of Invention”.

In conclusion, I must say that in India, both in the government and private sectors the scope of scientific research in the biotechnology field is immense, and probably the sky is the limit. There is an immense need for research professionals in this fast-growing field with great scope for carrier growth.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Ten plausible life lessons we learned from the worldwide disease outbreak

Over the last couple of months, we all started talking about the COVID-19 pandemic as it suddenly changed many lives around the globe. Researchers decoded a ‘novel coronavirus’ behind all this chaos. People everywhere are being requested to stay home and stay away from other persons to reduce the risk of infection as this coronavirus outbreak has shifted from just a pandemic to a global epidemic. Many countries (Italy, China, UK, USA, France, Germany, Spain, and others) around the world are coming to a standstill, culminating in illness and unforeseen death. Even in India, the whole country is on lockdown to stop COVID-19 spread at stage-II.

Apart from all the negative outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are some important life lessons that we have learned so far:

Taking care of our hygiene, whether there’s a virus or not.

This might sound silly, but before the pandemic, most people might not have known that soap destroys certain kinds of viruses and bacteria. We must wash our hands with soap followed by applying any alcohol-based hand sanitizers. We must learn the drill by now to keep ourselves safe from any viral or bacterial infection. Well, now we all do, and we’ll probably wash our hands a lot more frequently after this is “over.” Staying sudsy for at least 20 seconds is now part of our psyches.

The social awareness in most of the Indian population is very less.

We must take a huge initiative to upright social awareness. In some critical situations, even fake news, rumor, hoax can act like an atom bomb to take away the lives of many people. This lack of awareness situation can be solved through an efficient collaboration between Government and private enterprises.

Studying biological sciences at entry-level would have been our first choice.

Biological knowledge is not only a basic parameter of studying Bioscience but also it helps to satisfy many basic human needs and improve living standards. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 is one of the highlighted examples, where the application of the biological knowledge can only open the door of prevention as well as cure. If this scary situation has taught us anything, it’s that doctors and researchers will be the ones who will take us out of this mess. Along with the health workers, they are the ones working day and night to drive the recovery of the world to find a suitable coronavirus treatment.

Taking a sick leave could save lives.

If you are feeling sick and diagnosed with any viral infection, then you must not come to your workplace. If possible, then talk to any of your colleagues who can take care of your work during your absence. You never know when staying home could save the lives of your colleagues.

“Work from home” could be an option for many people.

During this lockdown period, many people learned that their jobs were possible to do from home. We could realize that most jobs have a certain amount of work that can easily be done from home without coming to the office. We could find some way just to promote our work-life balance.

We may consider the internet facility as a human right.

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Birmingham, free internet access should be considered as a human right, provided it should not cost the human basic need like water, food, etc. In some states of India, the free Wi-Fi has been provided to people in major railway stations and bus stops.

We must learn to appreciate Nature.

We keep on hurting our environment for the sake of our profit. We fill up ponds just to stand one skyscraper, deforestation we see in every corner of the globe, wastage of potable water, use of plastic is gradually destroying the aqua environment. But we should not forget that these never pay. If we don’t start realizing now, then we have to face the heat again shortly.

The importance of talking to friends and relatives.

Psychologists and researchers have been saying this for many, many years we have a deep innate need to be around other people and share experiences, and indeed our lives. All the research shows that more connected people are happier and healthier in the long run. During this lockdown situation, the best way to combat loneliness is to be in regular contact with friends, family members, and relatives. Being alone, especially for extroverts can be exhausting and lonely. In true sense, social distancing can be very difficult, but it can also teach us a lot about ourselves. This is the time to have long talks and deep conversations to relax.

The world is wildly connected.

We like to remember this one when it suits us when talking about the connectivity that technology allows or the global nature of business. But we are obviously all connected physically, too, as evidenced by the speedy spread of the virus around the globe. To think of countries as fundamentally separate from one another is fundamentally flawed. Once we internalize this, we’ll probably be better off, both psychologically and in our ability to plan for future pandemics.

Life won’t be the same after and that’s ok.

People have been saying this since fairly early on into the saga, but it was hard to wrap one’s brain around it was much more comforting to imagine that we’d spring or soothing weather to live happily. But as “stay-at-home” orders extend, it’s easier to see that things have changed, some irreversibly, and for better and for worse.

Student Contributors:

Nancy Jaiswal (B.Tech Biotechnology, Sem-IV)

Swarnav Bhakta (M.Sc Biotechnology, Sem-II)