LASER/BACTERIAL ASSAY SYSTEM FOR TOXICANT DETECTION AND QUANTIFICATION

A LASER/BACTERIAL ASSAY SYSTEMS FOR DETECTING AND MEASURING TOXIC CHEMICALS AND NATURAL TOXINS IN FOOD, WATER AND SOIL WILL BE REFINED AND FIELD TESTED. THE SCIENTIFIC FEASIBILI TY OF USING A LIGHT SCATTERING LASER SYSTEM WITH A BATTERY ORF ISOGENIC BACILLUS SUBTILLIS STRAINS GENETICALLY ENGIN EERED TO RESPOND UNIQUELY TO SPECIFIC TOXICANTS HAS BEEN DE-MONSTRATED. THIS TECHNOLOGY DETERMINE THE EXACT RESPONSE PATTERN IN THE PRESENCE OF NORMAL ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA (FOOD,WATER, SOIL). THE TECHNOLOGY WILL BE DEMONSTRATED IN THE LABORATORY AND FIELD SETTINGS, WITH CONFIRMATORY TRADITIONALANALYTICAL TESTING BEING CONDUCTED IN PARALLEL WORK. THE LASER/BACTERIAL ASSAY WILL BE MODIFIED FOR A PORTABLE SYSTEMAND FIELD TESTED DEMONSTRATING THE FLEXIBILITY AND STABILITYOF THE BIOLOGICAL AND LASER COMPONENTS. PARAMETERS TO BE TESTED WILL INCLUDE STABILITY, PORTABILITY,SENSITIVITY, SEL-ECTIVITY,REPRODUCIBILITY,AND VERSATILITY OF THE ASSAY SYSTEMITS USE FOR MONITORING PESTICIDE AND FOOD ADDITIVE RESIDUES IN PLANT AND ANIMAL SAMPLES, WATER CONTAMINANTS AND SOIL CONTAMINANTS WILL BE DEMONSTRATED.