Compact Field-Portable, Multi-Analyte Luminometer for Chemiluminescent and Bioluminescent Immunoassasys

Currently, the United States Army is investigating the application of chemiluminescent and bioluminescent immunoassay technologies for biological agent detection. Immunoassays offer the potential of highly specific screening for diverse organic and inorganic analytes. In order to rapidly screen for diverse biological agents in the field, a rugged, field-portable luminometer is needed. Commercially available fluorimeters and luminometers are bulky and best suited for clinical and laboratory envioronments, rather than harsh military environment. To aid the Army in assessing the potential of bio/chemiluminescent immunoassays for bioagent detection, Physical Optics Corporation proposes to develop a novel, field-portable, multi-analyte luminometer using charge-coupled device (CCD) intensification techniques developed for the Hubble Space Telescope program. The high sensitivity, large dynamic range, small size, and lower power requirements of the proposed CCD detector promise a compace, field-portable luminometer capable of detecting a broad variety of flow, flash, and enhanced flash reactions associated with target biological agents. The development of the porposed luminometer will open broad avenues for commercialization of both luminescence- and fluorescence-based biosensors for use in routine clinical laboratories.