Multi-Analyte Immunomagnetic Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) System for Environmental Applications

Environmental monitoring is difficult because of the large number of potential pollutants and broad range of their chemical classes. A multi-analyte environmental screening and monitoring instrument which is fast, portable, species specific, fieldable, cost-effective and flexible is clearly needed to plan and carry out the remediation of contaminated waste sites and to monitor and characterize in real-time the contamination subsurface distribution. To meet these needs, Systems & Processes Engineering Corporation (SPEC) proposes to develop a low-cost multi-analyte immunomagnetic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) system. The ECL system will allow the operator/ researcher the flexibility of utilizing the same instrument to develop a number of environmental analytical techniques and methods including, for example, metal ligand and antibody capture ECL assays. Multi-analyte capability is provided by using ECL reporter molecules with different excitatory voltage potentials attached to molecules which are designed to specifically capture chemical or biological species of interest. The multi-analyte ECL system will incorporate a high volume flow cell for environmental samples, magnetic beads as the substrate for the capture mechanism and a variable potential electrode which identifies individual analyte components by their characteristic voltage dependent ECL.