100 likes | 215 Views
Development of Biosensors to Detect Biological Agents in Water. Melissa Bui Mentor: Dr. Christopher Choi Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering College of Agriculture and Life Sciences University of Arizona/NASA Space Grant 2007-2008 Statewide Symposium April 19, 2008.
E N D
Development of Biosensors to Detect Biological Agents in Water Melissa Bui Mentor: Dr. Christopher Choi Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering College of Agriculture and Life Sciences University of Arizona/NASA Space Grant 2007-2008 Statewide Symposium April 19, 2008
Presentation Outline • The Issue at Hand • Benefits of using biosensors • Methods • Key Findings
The Issue at Hand • Arizona’s water distribution network is comprised of a grid of pipes • Entry points of the grid make it easy for contaminants to pollute the water • There is currently no real-time method for detecting contaminants in Arizona’s water supply
Benefits of using biosensors • Microfluidic device provides a faster method of detecting microbes than current methods (assays) • Uses less materials than traditional culture plate method • Faster detection Eliminating the problem before it affects the masses • Can be used to prevent bioterrorism
Methods E. Coli was the microbe being detected • Salt injected in 8.5 m pipe at a flow rate of 0.4 L/m for 10 seconds • 1 mL of E. Coli (concentration greater than 109 CFU/mL) in 1 L dechlorinated water is injected • Samples taken in set time intervals with a fraction collector at downstream end of pipe • Samples taken at critical time points were analyzed using biosensor and cell culturing
Comparison of optical signals to cell counts and salt tracer data Turbulent flow Laminar flow Jin-Hee Han, PhD Student, University of Arizona
E. Coli counts and microfluidic signals Jin-Hee Han, PhD Student, University of Arizona
Key Findings • Microfluidic signals showed same trends as E. Coli counts and salt tracer data • Data from culture counts and sensors signals corresponded after normalizing data • Detection limit of biosensor as low as 10 CFU/mL • Sensors detected sample concentration in 5 minutes, while culturing samples took at least 2 days
Acknowledgements • Support provided by: Dr. Christopher Choi, Dr. Jeong-Yool Yoon, Jin-Hee Han, and Dr. Ryan Sinclair • Figures courtesy of Jin-Hee Han