FIBER OPTIC SENSOR FOR IMPROVED IMMUNOASSAY FOR PATHOGENS IN SEAFOOD

THE IMPACT OF INDUSTRIALIZATION IN COASTAL REGIONS AND THE DEGRADATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE VICINITY OF SEAFOOD PRODUCING REGIONS HAS BECOME EVIDENT FROM THE QUALITY OF FOODS PRODUCED IN THESE REGIONS. AFFINITY PURIFIED POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES ARE BEING DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE A RAPID METHOD FOR THE EVALUATION OF LISTERIA MONO- CYTOGENES AND TOXINS FROM VIBRIO CHOLERAE IMPLICATED IN FOODPOISONING BY CONTAMINATED SEAFOOD. SIMILAR POLYCLONAL ANTI-BODIES EXIST FOR THE EVALUATION OF MANY STRAINS OF SALMON- ELLA. HOWEVER, THERE IS A NEED TO DEVELOP A RAPID, SPECIFICAND RELIABLE METHOD TO EVALUATE RESULTS FROM FLUORESCENTLY LABELED POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES CAPABLE OF REDUCING THE EX- PENSE ASSOCIATED WITH SUBSTANTIAL VOLUMES OF REACTANT MATERIALS. THIS PROPOSAL SUGGESTS THE USE OF COATED OR CLADOPTICAL FIBERS, WHICH ARE COILED TO PROVIDE A LONG OPTICAL PATH LENGTH, TO PROVIDE EXTREMELY HIGH SENSITIVITY DETECTORSFOR HETEROGENEOUS, FLUORESCENCE-LABELED IMMUNOASSAY TESTS. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM INVOLVES A MEANS OF EXCITING BOUND FLUORESCENT REAGENTS IN THE VICINITY OF THE OPTICAL FIBER COILS. THE INNOVATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS THE COMBIN- ATION OF FIBER OPTIC VLUORESCENCE EXCITATION AND A DETECTIONTECHNIQUE WHICH OPTIMIZES THE SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO OF THE IMMUNOSENSOR. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES INCLUDE PREPARATION AND EVALUATION OF OPTICAL FIBER BUNDLES; EVALUATION OF APPROPRIATE FLUORESCENTLY LABELED ANTIBODIES; DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND CALIBRATION OF THE OPTICAL FIBER FLUORS- SCENCE DETECTION SYSTEM; ACQUISITION OF TEST DATA AND CON- CEPTUAL DESIGN OF A PROOF-OR-CONCEPT FIBER-OPTIC SENSOR SYSTEM FOR FLUORESCENCE IMMUNOASSAY FOR EXTENSIVE TESTING IN PHASE-II OF THE PROGRAM.