Monitoring Food and Water for Pathogens

BioScale, Inc. was founded with the mission to develop biohazard detection systems for commercial applications. After an intensive investigation of technologies existing in commercial, academic, and government labs, BioScale has selected a MEMS device fordetection of viral and bacterial pathogens. This technology is best suited for the near-term development of a low-cost, field deployable, real-time, and reliable biohazard detection system capable of integration with standard sample preparation processes.In order to demonstrate proof-of-principle, the detection limits for a target analyte in a raw physical sample will be measured using the proposed device. In Phase I, BioScale proposes to demonstrate that the MEMS device is a viable biohazard detector.Specifically, the program seeks to prove that the sensitivity of the device meets the requirements of biohazard detection applications and that it can be combined with environmental control and sample preparation elements to design a complete system.There are several motivating applications for this biosensor work: Pathogen detection, acute care diagnostics and pharmaceutical development. Pathogen detection in the nations water arteries and food supply chain presents an opportunity for the currentfocus of microbial detection. Analytes, such as, Cryptosporidium, Giardia and various strains of E. coli (Ref. CDC), present in the smallest concentrations can cause severe illness and death in immuno-compromised hosts. Recent events have prompted anational focus on homeland security and defense against biological agents. Today's need is for microbe detection, such as anthrax and smallpox, both in liquid environment samples and in physiological samples