Early Warning and Monitoring of Dangerous Biological Materials by Phase-Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Systems & Processes Engineering Corp. (SPEC) has developed a Phase Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy (PRFS) biosensor which is capable of detecting and classifying biological materials. SPEC's PRFS biosensor uses lifetime fluorescence to provide: (1) enhanced senstivity to structural differences associated with various classes and species of bacteria, and (2) a means to reduce fluorescence interference from other bacterial fluorophores. SPEC has shown that lifetime determination by phase and frequency can achieve picosecond resolution. This resolution is sufficient for discriminating between bacterial species and classes. PRFS is based on the physical phenomena occurring when a fluorescent bacteria is excited with sinusoidally modulated light, inducing a phase shifted emission corresponding to the time lag between absorption and fluorescence. These "phase" fluorescence parameters are used to generate Excitation Emission Frequency Arrays (EEFAs) for use in detecting, classifying and monitoring concentration changes of potentially dangerous bacterial/biological materials. In Phase I, SPEC will: (1) develop a PRFS Biosensor System specification; (2) design a signal processing scheme; (3) perform PRFS biosensor laboratory investigations and demonstrations; (4) design a miniaturized PRFS Biosensor, incorporated Multi-Chip Module (MCM) technolgy and leading to a Phase II PRFS Biosensor prototype, which will be delivered to the Army for field evaluation.