SBIR Phase I: Dip-stick Tests for Detection of Heavy Metals in Water

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的重点是将用于检测水中重金属（铅、铀、铜、汞）的蘸棒测试商业化，在测试条上出现红线将表明存在污染物。水中重金属污染是严重的健康问题，易于检测是快速有效去除重金属污染的关键。目前建立的检测方法使用复杂、昂贵的仪器和熟练的操作人员。存在着对低成本、实时和现场检测各种污染物的现场测试套件的需求。analysis建议利用生物技术和纳米技术的最新进展制作高度敏感和特异的试纸测试。一种被称为DNAzymes的特殊金属特异性DNA序列将被金纳米颗粒功能化，并在横向流动装置（试纸条）上干燥，制成重金属浸渍棒传感器，类似于家用验孕试剂盒的格式。这项研究更广泛的影响是，这些蘸棒测试是一种理想的解决方案，可以在家庭、学校、医院和工业中进行简单的现场水质测试，而不是将水样送到分析实验室，因为分析实验室通常需要2周以上的时间才能得到结果。这为用户提供了一个显著的优势，他们可以在检测到污染物后更快地开始任何补救过程，从而减少它们的不利影响。这些测试在发展中国家尤其有价值，因为这些国家获得精密分析测试的仪器或资金可能有限。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on commercializing dip-stick tests for detection of heavy metals (lead, uranium, copper, mercury) in water, where the appearance of a red line on the test strip will indicate the presence of a contaminant. Heavy metal contamination in water poses a serious health concern and their easy detection is essential for fast and effective removal. Currently established detection methods use sophisticated, expensive instrumentation and skilled operators. There exists the need for spot test kits for low cost, real time and on-site detection for wide range of contaminants. ANDalyze proposes to make highly sensitive and specific dip-stick tests using recent advances in biotechnology and nanotechnology. A special class of metal-specific DNA sequences, called DNAzymes will be functionalized with gold nanoparticles and dried on lateral flow devices (test strips) to make dip-stick sensors for heavy metals, similar in format to the home pregnancy test kits. The broader impact of this research is that these dip-stick tests are an ideal solution for easy, on-site water quality testing in homes, schools, hospitals and industries, instead of sending water samples to analytical labs where it can often take more than 2 weeks to get back results. This provides a significant advantage to a user who can start any remediation process sooner upon detection of contaminants, thereby reducing their adverse impacts. These tests are particularly valuable in developing countries where access to instrumentation or money for sophisticated analytical tests may be limited.