An Acoustic Plate Mode Sensor for Biowarfare Toxins

Military personnel are vulnerable to many biological agents, such as bacteria, bacterial toxins and viruses, in the field. These agents must be detected rapidly to allow prompt treatment of infected personnel. These agents may be detected using either immunological (antibody-antigen) or genomic (DNA) diagnostics. Such techniques as ELISA, latex bead agglutination kits or radio-labeled probes require multiple incubations, careful washes and well-trained technicians. Ideally, a field test, requiring a single step, should provide immediate (a few minutes) feedback. One approach, which currently allows the rapid (<5 minutes) detection of minute quantities (~10 ng/mL) of antigen, antibody or DNA, employs a piezoelectric biosensor for the immunological or genomic detection of the target biochemical agent. The resonant frequency of the piezoelectric device is observed as the biochemical surface reaction progresses. With reasonable improvements in the measurement electronics, higher frequency operation and the improved design of the SHAPM device, BIODE anticipates the sensitivity could be improved by as much as 100-fold (<100 pg) during the Phase I study. Further progressive improvements are expected as the development effort continues.