E.coREADi: Automated Microbial Assays for Drinking Water Analysis

The E.coREADi technology leverages a proprietary enrichment method with high specificity and sensitivity fluorescent enzyme activity assays to detect target organisms. Originally developed as an assay kit to facilitate E. coli testing within wastewater effluents aboard US Navy vessels and ensure EPA compliance prior to discharging treated water, the E.coREADi technology is currently being refined for automated drinking water analysis. Ongoing development has included modifying the microbiological assay to integrate simultaneous detection of coliform bacteria, as well as reagent and protocol optimizations for recovering chlorine-stressed organisms. Luna Labs is currently transitioning the assay to an automated microfluidic system that will simplify operational requirements and facilitate field use. The system includes low-cost and injection-molded microfluidic cartridges (Figure 1) manufactured with shelf-stable reagents, and a ruggedized low-footprint, battery operated, and portable benchtop instrument to automate the system. For the end-user, the test sample is simply added to the cartridge and inserted to the instrument, with on-screen prompts enabling high throughput analysis of up to 16 samples and same-day results to be received electronically.