SBIR Phase I: Biosensor for Label-Free, Real-Time Monitoring of Environmental Pathogens

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目提议开发一种基于微阵列的生物传感器，用于现场、实时识别和计数来自水性和/或气溶胶样本的多种环境微生物，具有高灵敏度和特异性。生物传感器的操作将基于最近开发的涉及光栅耦合表面等离子体共振（GCSPR）的新技术。拟议的生物传感器系统，具有连续在线监测的能力，将有许多应用程序，其中快速评估污染的环境将是必要的。第一阶段项目的具体目标是：（a）设计气溶胶和水溶液样品输送到GC-SPR生物传感器流动池的方式，以及（B）评估和优化生物传感器在检测原型微生物靶标中的性能。在后续的二期项目中，将选择特定的目标病原体，并构建检测这些病原体的特定芯片，预计该项目的商业应用将在大量地点进行。它们包括：（1）医院，可能发生医院感染;（2）办公楼，霉菌孢子、军团菌和其他病原体的意外污染可能造成健康危害;（3）自然水体或商业供水，其中隐孢子虫、大肠杆菌和其他几种水媒病原体引起极大关注;以及（4）食品工业，其中需要用于在线和实时检测病原体的灵敏方法。最后，拟议的技术将提供对生物制剂的快速现场检测，如炭疽芽孢杆菌的孢子，这可能是故意引入环境。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I Project proposes to develop a microarray-based biosensor for on-site, real-time identification and enumeration of multiple environmental microorganisms from aqueous and/or aerosol samples with high sensitivity and specificity. The operation of the biosensor will be based on a recently developed novel technology involving grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance (GCSPR). The proposed biosensor system, with the capability for continuous on-line monitoring, would have numerous applications where rapid assessment of a contaminated environment would be needed. The specific objectives of the Phase I project are (a) to engineer the manner in which aerosol and aqueous samples will be delivered to the GC-SPR biosensor flow cell, and (b) to assess and optimize the performance of the biosensor in the detection of a prototype microbial target. In the follow-on Phase II project, specific target pathogens will be selected and specific chips will be constructed to detect these pathogens.The commercial applications of this project are expected to be in a large number of locations. They include (1) hospitals, where nosocomial infections may arise; (2) office buildings, where accidental contamination with mold spores, Legionella and other pathogens may create health hazards; (3) natural bodies of water or commercial water supplies, where Cryptosporidium, coliform bacteria and several other waterborne pathogens are of great concern ; and (4) the food industry, where there is a need for sensitive methods for on-line and real-time detection of pathogens. Finally, the proposed technology will provide for rapid, on-site detection of biological agents, such as spores of Bacillus anthracis, that may be intentionally introduced into the environment.