THE USE OF BIOFILMS TO COUNTER BIOTERRORISM

描述(逐字摘自申请者摘要)： 恐怖分子将用生物污染公共饮用水供应 细菌、病毒或毒素等病原体一天比一天强。近期 故意污染食物细菌的案例强调了我们的 易受这些攻击的攻击。一种创新的方法来应对这种情况 威胁是使用细菌生物膜来捕获和呈现这些致病菌 生物制剂无效。这项研究和后续研究的目标是 建立一个使用天然生物膜从受污染的地方去除病原体的系统 喝水。在第一阶段，我们将量化病原体的程度 附着在生物膜上。具体来说，我们将使用一种能够 测量细菌可捕获的生物恐怖分子的数量 生物膜。这项研究产生的数据将被用来创建一个 初步设计了一套处理系统。确实有必要建立一种制度 例如防止公共或军用饮用水受到污染 系统。MSE组建的团队和我们的合作伙伴The 生物膜工程中心，在生物膜领域无与伦比 依恋现象，特别是在涉及饮用水问题时。 我们可以共同有效地开发这项技术，并将其推向 商业化。 建议的商业应用： 确实需要能够有效地去除病原体的系统 受污染的饮用水中的物质。生物膜系统有很多优点。 超过传统系统，因为它有能力在很大程度上捕获和呈现无效的 致病物质种类繁多。该系统的商业应用包括 美国军方、医院和自来水公司。

DESCRIPTION (Verbatim from Applicant's Abstract): The possibility that terrorists will contaminate public drinking water supplies with biological agents, such as bacteria, viruses, or toxins, becomes greater every day. Recent cases of intentional food contamination with bacteria emphasize our vulnerability to these attacks. An innovative approach to counteracting this threat is to use bacterial biofilms for trapping and rendering these pathogenic biological agents ineffective. The goal of this, and subsequent research, is to build a system that uses natural biofilms to remove pathogens from contaminated drinking water. During Phase I, we will quantify the extent of pathogen attachment to biofilms. Specifically, we will use a test apparatus capable of measuring the amount of bioterrorism agents that can be captured by bacterial biofilms. The data generated from this research will be used to create a preliminary design of a treatment system. There is a definite need for a system such as this to prevent contamination of public or military drinking water systems. The expertise of the assembled team at MSE, and our partner, the Center for Bioflim Engineering, is unsurpassed in the field of biofilm attachment phenomenon, especially as it relates to drinking water issues. Together we can effectively develop this technology and move it towards commercialization. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: There is a definite need for systems that have the ability to effectively remove pathogenic substances from contaminated drinking water. A biofilm system will have many advantages over conventional systems because of its ability to trap and render ineffective a wide variety of pathogenic substances. Commercial applications for this system include the U.S. Military, hospitals, and water utilities.