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

该小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目将开发一种便携式系统，用于现场实时，同时检测和识别水溶液或气溶胶样品中的多种环境微生物和毒素，具有高灵敏度和特异性，并具有最小的假阳性或阴性事件。该系统由一次性生物传感器芯片和光学读取装置组成。检测是基于一种专有的光学转换技术，称为光栅耦合表面等离子体共振成像（GCSPRI）。先前的I期工作已经证明了GCSPR微阵列技术用于高灵敏度多重检测的可行性。第二阶段项目的目标是开发一种检测/识别传感器的实验室原型和一种原型芯片，用于对包括细菌、病毒和毒素在内的三种分析物的模型集进行多重检测。将使用非致病性生物体作为模型系统。将探索多表位检测方法以降低假警报的概率。第二阶段工作的最终结果将是使用手动进样的实验室原型进行演示。这将提供一个逻辑和关键的里程碑，过渡到商业开发的便携式检测系统接口的气溶胶收集器进行现场测试和evaluation.The商业应用的这个项目是在检测生物制剂的国土防御。在需要对污染环境进行快速评估时，具有低误报率的近实时、多路复用测量能力将是有价值的。潜在的应用将包括医院，医院感染可能会出现;大型建筑物，霉菌孢子，军团菌和其他病原体的意外污染可能会造成健康危害;娱乐用水和饮用水供应，其中水传播病原体是一个很大的问题;食品工业，需要在线和实时检测病原体的敏感方法。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a portable system for real-time, simultaneous detection and identification of multiple environmental microbes and toxins from aqueous or aerosol samples, on site, with high sensitivity and specificity and with minimal false positives or negative events. The system consists of a disposable biosensor chip and an optical reader device. The detection is based on a proprietary optical transduction technology known as grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance imaging (GCSPRI). Prior Phase I work has demonstrated the feasibility of the GCSPR microarray technology for multiplexed detection with high sensitivity. The goal of the Phase II project is to develop a laboratory prototype of a detection/identification sensor and a prototype chip for multiplexed detection of a model set of three analytes including a bacterium, a virus and a toxin. Non-pathogenic organisms will be used as model systems. Multi-epitope detection methods will be explored for reducing the probability of false alarms. The end result of the Phase II effort will be a demonstration with the laboratory prototype using manual sample introduction. This will provide the logical and critical milestone to transition into commercial development of a portable detection system interfaced to an aerosol collector for field testing and evaluation.The commercial application of this project is in the detection of biological agents for Homeland Defense. The capability for near real-time, multiplexed measurements with a low false alarm rate will be valuable whenever rapid assessment of a contaminated environment is needed. The potential applications would include hospitals, where nosocomial infections may arise; large buildings, where accidental contamination with mold spores, Legionella and other pathogens may create health hazards; recreational water and drinking water supplies, where waterborne pathogens are a great concern; and the food industry, where there is a need for sensitive methods for on-line and real-time detection of pathogens.