RAPID DETECTION OF MULTIPLE BIOTERRORISM AGENTS

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long terms goal of this research is the development of a portable instrument that will allow a relatively untrained operator to determine the presence and amount of up to twenty bioterrorism agents in a matter of fifteen to twenty minutes. The assay will be simple and very nearly immune to operator error. The principle application of the device will be for the rapid analysis of suspected bioterrorism samples at sites remote from conventional analytical laboratories. The speed and ease with which these assays can be performed, coupled with the portability and anticipated low cost. should lead to wide-spread use in postal offices, police stations, state and federal governmental offices and other locations that are at risk from either real, or simulated bioterrorism attack.The specific goals of the Phase I grant period will be the demonstration that a Surface Enhanced Raman lmmunoAssay (SERIA) can be developed that is capable of simultaneously determining the presence and amount of bioterrorism simulants for yersina pestis (plague) and botulism toxin. Associated goals of the project are the demonstration of increased sensitivity of the SERIA assays through matching of the spectral characteristics of dye-tags for antibodies with the excitation frequency of the laser of the instrument, and the implementation of a system that allows for the error-free presentation of samples and reporting of bioterrorism agent levels.