Systems to Detect Bacterial Contamination of Banked Blood In A Rapid, Non-invasive, Low Technology Manner

This proposal is an outline of basic research designed to indicate the feasibility of an advanced approach to detect a bacteria-distinguishing metabolite in whole banked blood as a marker for contamination. The candidate marker metabolite is not found in significant amounts in blood. The effort employs a novel detector developed which remotely and non-invasively and its presence would be a specific signal for bacterial contamination. The low technology approach using this specific marker-remote detector system results in a color change visible by eye or by instrument in which pilot data has show a proportional dose-response effect. The Phase I effort is a technical feasibility test of a model of tis remote detector system within sealed vials using expired blood (1) spiked with added metabolite (2) spiked with selected contaminating microorganisms and (3) spiked with a call-free metabolite-generating amendment. The results of these experiments and the colors viewed and measured within these experimental conditions will yield information regarding the validity of the model system, sensitivity and selectivity of the detector system in whole blood regarding the reasibility of the new approach to Phase II prototype development.