Assessment of growth of Fusarium solani by cyclic voltammetry and possible bioanalytical applications

Abstract

Fusarium solani, the fungus isolated from polyurethane waste scraps, was studied for its voltammetric response. The peak current values were obtained for different days and were plotted against time. This electrochemical method based on the voltammetric response showed all the four phases of the growth of the fungus. The growth curve obtained matched well with the conventional methodology, which is obtained by assessing the increase of dry weight of the organisms against time. The electrochemical method is more advantageous than the conventional method because the conventional method is very time consuming and difficult to work with. Further, the electrochemical method clearly shows the decline phase, which is generally not very well defined in the conventional method of assessment of the growth curve. It was confirmed by further experiments that the metabolites were responsible for the anodic peak and not the fungal biomass. Identification of the metabolites that are responsible for the anodic peak is presently being studied.