Determination of radon gas and lead ion concentrations in building materials using biosensors

Background: This study is focused on the design and manufacture of a biosensor to detect the presence of the two chemicals Pb+2 and 222Rn in soil and building materials. Materials and Methods: The biosensor is used on the basis of primers (ssDNA with high guanine). These are different sequences of nitrogenous bases. Biosensor-Ι and biosensor-ΙΙ have sequences as follow: 5′-AGGGTTAGGGTTAGGGTTAGGG-′3 and 5′- GGTTGGTGTGGTTGG-′3, respectively. The results show that the average 222Rn (BIOS-ΙI) was higher than 222Rn (BIOS-Ι). The average Pb+2 (BIOS-Ι) was higher than Pb+2 (BIOS-ΙΙ). Results: The 222Rn and Pb+2 in the samples were ordered as following: Indian granite > soil loc 2 > Chinese granite > soil loc 1 > soil loc 3 > Iraqi mosaic > Iranian mosaic > Iraqi bricks > Iraqi thermostone blocks > Indian ceramic > cement1 > Iranian thermostone blocks > Turkish marble > Iranian ceramic > Iranian bricks > cement2 > Iranian marble. Conclusion: The levels of Pb+2 and 222Rn in Chinese and Indian granites are higher than the acceptable limits. This method can be used for detecting radioactive and organic materials. It can also exclude radiation damage from field testing.