SBIR Phase II: Rapid Detection of Bacterial Contaminants Using Micro-Fluidic Biochips

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a microfluidic based system for the detection of viable pathogens using dielectric concentration of bacteria as an intermediate step. This system would use a first-stage concentrator, followed by dielectrophoretic concentration, and finally by culturing in media with integrated impedance measurements to detect culture growth. The commercial application of this project will be on the detection of waterborne microorganisms in biopharmaceutical manufacturing operations. The proposed method would electronically detect the viability of microorganisms in water samples in less than 3 hours, unlike the current technology that takes 2-7 days to yield results.