SBIR Phase I:Phage detectors for bacterial pathogens

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project has a goal of creating a system that, while being inexpensive and simple to use, will be able to analyze samples for the presence of a live pathogenic bacteria and determine their species, as well as sensitivities to antibiotics within just a few hours. As detectors, this system will utilize modified bacteriophages. To prove the concept, it is proposed to create the first detector of the system targeted at Campylobacters, which are emerging as one of the most significant causes of human gastrointestinal infections worldwide. The broader impacts of this research are expected in the biodefense area and medicine where a flexible detection system will allow simultaneous multiparameter monitoring of the environment or food and water supplies for their safety, as well as enable physicians to choose the appropriate antibiotic at very early stages of bacterial infection, thus increasing the efficiency of treatment and reducing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.