Biological Threat Identification Employing Force Amplified Biosensor Technology

Systems & Processes Engineering Corporation (SPEC) proposes to develop a highly sensitive point pathogen detection system based on Force Amplified Biosensor (FAB) technology. Similar to Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). FAB employs a greatly simplified AFM configuration to measure intermolecular interactions. By employing immobilized antibodies and very small, well characterized, magnetic beads, extremely high sensitivity and specificity can be achieved. Further this proposed sensor will expand on the FAB technology by using the force required to break the bonds in the immunoassay as either a discriminant or as an additional selective feature in determining the type of pathogen. The final system will be controlled by a microprocessor and will be designed to be compact and portable. A low volume air sampler will be all that is necessary because of the use of the novel highly sensitive FAB technology coupled with the additional selectivity of bond-force-discrimination.