Biologic Ligand-Based Detection Systems for Biodefense

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Molecular film recognition will be the basis for a portable detector system for bioagents, permitting the sensitive, quantifiable detection of active agents in real time. Ligand-based systems are already used in a number of applications, including medicine, manufacturing, and environmental monitoring. Previous research will be leveraged in order to develop a prototype bio-weapon detector. The original effort will be directed toward Hantavirus, which is responsible for an often-lethal pulmonary syndrome. The virus is carried by rats and mice, although generally not in urban environments. Person-to-person transmission has not been associated with HPS cases in the United States. However, person-to-person transmission was well documented for a single outbreak in southern Argentina, and it was suspected to have occurred much less extensively in another outbreak in Chile that was associated with the same virus. Therefore, to protect workers, it is important to be able to detect the virus in biosamples. The challenge will be to improve the limits of detection from realistic samples, as well as integrating the method into a disposable cartridge. The design should be flexible enough to be adaptable to detection of a broad array of pathogens or toxins. Both university and national laboratory investigators and their students will participate.