SBIR Phase II: Continuous eDNA Monitoring for Early Detection of Aquaculture Diseases

As aquaculture increases productivity to meet worldwide demand, it faces an increasing threat from the spread of disease, aquatic organisms, and pathogens. However, biosensor technologies have not kept pace with the need to monitor these ever-increasing threats. In particular, biomonitoring has been limited by the need for continuous human presence, whether at the point of collection or in the laboratory. What is needed are biosensors that function as robustly and easily as a smoke-alarm, i.e., autonomous, reliable, in-field monitoring technologies capable of disseminating data straightforwardly and in real-time to a broad range of personnel and decision-makers. CD3 will seek to overcome these barriers. By completing the assembly of a benchtop instrument and piloting it to detect customers’ target aquatic pathogens, we will validate and develop the technology. Simultaneously, we will be using the engineering and application data gathered from the benchtop instrument to inform an Alpha Product unit’s professional industrial engineering design suitable for production and sales.