Grantee Research Project Results
Portable System for On-Site Detection of Legionella
EPA Contract Number: 68D99085Title: Portable System for On-Site Detection of Legionella
Investigators: Fernandez, Salvador M.
Small Business: Ciencia Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: II
Project Period: September 1, 1999 through September 1, 2001
Project Amount: $225,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase II (1999) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , SBIR - Monitoring , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Description:
The objective of the proposed program is to develop a fluorescence-based system (instrument plus reagents) for onsite quantitative detection of Legionella. Currently, Legionella testing must be performed in the laboratory, which is both costly and slow. There is a need for improved methods capable of rapid onsite analysis. The proposed system will be hand-portable, low-cost, and capable of high sensitivity. In addition, it will provide immediate results (approximately 1 hour), and be able to distinguish between live and dead Legionella bacteria. No such systems currently are available. Detection will be based on the integration of an innovative fluorescence immunoassay using phycobilisome markers and compact fluorescence instrumentation recently developed at Ciencia. In Phase I, a conjugation procedure was developed, and conjugates were made that stained Legionella brightly and specifically as demonstrated by microscopic examination of stained bacteria in a fluorescence microscope. Also, a breadboard prototype of a light emitting diode-based fluorimeter was built, and an assay protocol was developed. Results demonstrated that the proposed dye provides more than three orders of magnitude greater sensitivity than fluorescein, the dye currently used in the DFA Legionella assay. In Phase II, an engineering prototype of a portable instrument will be built and field-validated with real-world samples.Supplemental Keywords:
small business, SBIR, monitoring, analytical, engineering, chemistry, EPA., RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Water, Engineering, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Analytical Chemistry, Microbiology, Monitoring/Modeling, flourescence assay, field portable monitoring, atmospheric chemistry, environmental monitoring, innovative technologies, measurement, field portable systems, Ligionella detection, pathogens, real-time monitoring, bacteria monitoring, field monitoring, microbial flora, microbial monitoring, indoor air, fluorescence detection, biomonitoringProgress and Final Reports:
SBIR Phase I:
Portable System for On-Site Legionella Detection | 1999 Progress Report | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.