Rapid Sensors for Biological Agent Identification

The growing threat of biological agents, new diseases, and food-borne pathogens has created an increasing need for rapid and sensitive detection before the target population becomes infected. The incident of the anthrax letters in October 2001, the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the West Nile virus, and repeated occurrences of food-borne pathogens illustrate how necessary such detection is. Detect-to-protect or detect-to-warn operation is generally possible only with an instrument that can detect and identify the pathogens in a few minutes or less. Merely detecting the presence of biological particles (as bioparticle triggers do—see " Advanced Trigger Development " by Thomas Jeys and colleagues, page 29) is insufficient, as there are generally many kinds of benign bacteria and other organisms routinely present in the air and often in or on the water and food that we consume. Detect-to-protect operation therefore requires not only that the particles be detected but also that they be identified, all within a short time (Figure 1). Applications that could benefit from CANARY (for Cellular Analysis and Notification of Antigen Risks and Yields) technology include biological aerosol sampling , point-of-care diagnostics, pre-symptomatic diagnosis in the aftermath of a biowarfare attack, detection of agricultural pathogens at ports of entry, or screening of perishable food supplies. Such rapid diagnostic tests could be applied in a variety of settings. Medical care workers would prefer to be able to diagnose patients within a few minutes at the point of care (e.g., doctor's office, hospital bedside) rather than have to submit samples for testing at remote facilities where the results often take several days to obtain. In addition, rapid identification of plant and animal dis