Automated, miniaturised pathogen detection systems

我们建议在我们最近展示的极其便宜的“芯片实验室”（LOC）系统上开发经济上可行的遗传病原体检测应用。遗传诊断的一个核心挑战不是检测能力本身，而是具有成本效益的检测能力。很大程度上由于高昂的劳动力和试剂成本，分子生物学对水质检测的影响迄今为止一直不大。我们已经组建了一个团队，他们在小型化和共同适应技术方面有着良好的记录，可以将旗舰分子生物学程序从传统仪器转移到LOC系统。我们的科学目标是将标准的分子生物学转移到新的廉价的LOC平台上——这将需要LOC技术和分子生物学技术的共同适应和重新设计。与加拿大在这一领域的世界领先者DALSA合作，该项目将产生一种用于LOC使用的新技术，并使我们的公共卫生合作伙伴成为展示这些新技术强大效益的先锋，同时为我们的工业合作伙伴提供市场机会。工业界和政府同样面临的一个挑战是确定我们的水中是否存在病原体。这将需要敏感、选择性和廉价的系统。我们建议应用先进的芯片实验室技术来检测前哨病原体，即已知与人类健康相关的病原体，并使用能够便携式部署的快速和廉价的系统来做到这一点。

We propose to develop economically viable genetic pathogen detection applications upon extremely inexpensive "lab on a chip" (LOC) systems that we have recently demonstrated. A central challenge for genetic diagnostics is not the testing capability itself, but the capability of cost-effective testing. Largely due to high labour and reagent costs, the impact of molecular biology upon water quality testing has to date been modest. We have assembled a team with a demonstrated track record in the miniaturization and co-adaptation of technologies for the transfer of flagship molecular biology procedures from conventional instrumentation to LOC systems. Our scientific objective is to move standard molecular biology onto a new and inexpensive LOC platforms - this will require co-adaptation and redesign of both the LOC technologies and the molecular biology technologies. Working with DALSA, a Canadian world leader in this arena, this project would generate a new technology for LOC use and place our public health partners in the vanguard of demonstrating the powerful benefits of these new technologies, while providing a market opportunity for our industrial partner. A challenge faced by industry and government alike is that of ascertaining the presence of pathogens in our water. This will require sensitive, selective and inexpensive systems. We propose to apply advanced lab-on-chip technologies to detect sentinel pathogens, i.e. pathogens that are known to be correlated with human health, and to do this with rapid and inexpensive systems that are capable of portable deployment.