SBIR Phase II: Rapid Detection of Fecal Contamination in Drinking Water

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project concerns a novel, rapid and cost effective detection system for fecal contamination in water supplies. Although existing methods can detect fecal contamination in water samples, improvements are needed in sensitivity, accuracy, and speed. This proposal describes the refinement of a novel sensor utilizing an insect chemosensory protein as the recognition element in a product that detects indole, a characteristic metabolite of coliform bacteria. The biosensor acts with high specificity and sensitivity, allowing the rapid detection of low level E. coli or fecal contamination in water supplies, and encompasses a novel implementation of lateral flow technology that can be used at home or in industry. The broader impacts of this research are that insect CSP-based biosensors as described constitute a platform technology with direct applications in the detection of environmental, chemical, or biological compounds or contaminants, including the detection of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs), quality control of foods and pharmaceuticals, the detection of toxins or stereoisomers generated during chemical or pharmaceutical synthesis, and the detection of volatile compounds present in weapons or explosives. These biosensors can also be used in medical diagnostics as well as numerous other applications where high speed, sensitivity and analyte selectivity are required. The platform technology has immediate application to a variety of important sensor and detector implementations that affect numerous industries, public safety, and public health. The water safety monitor described herein is only one example of the applications possible.