Arsenic contamination in India with its detection through biosensor and bioremediation from the aqueous system: A complete review

Abstract

The scarcity of drinking water is a major problem in this present world. Arsenic is a naturally occurring and highly toxic environmental contaminant found in rocks, soil, and water in contact with them. Natural arsenic concentration above their permissible limits is an environmental crisis all over the globe and one of the biggest in India as arsenic toxicity and human health is intensely connected. Human health risks associated with arsenic acute toxicity include DNA damage, mutations, neurological disorders, respiratory diseases, and cancer in the liver, kidney, and skin. This toxicity makes the detection and identification of such arsenic-rich aquifers an utmost important so that human health is not compromised. This review aims at the distribution of arsenic toxicity in India, its detection through biosensors, and its bioremediation. The various advancements reported in the designing of biosensors for arsenic detection such as nucleotide-based, whole cell-based, enzyme inhibition-based, nanomaterials-based, pH-based, electrochemical-based, etc., its basic principles, and range or limit of detection are discussed. The removal of this arsenic from the aqueous system is discussed using adsorbents of biological origin such as fungal, bacterial, plant biomasses, agricultural biowastes, etc., and their bioremediation efficiency.