Bioaerosol Agent Collector and Detection

At present, there exists a critical need within the military and homeland defense for reagentless detection systems that are capable of identifying and quantifying airborne microorganisms and biochemical agents. To meet these growing needs, OSS was awarded a contract through the Chem/Bio Defense Agency – SBIR program to develop a unique bio-aerosol collection and detection system that does not require the use of any reagents. The system is designed to collect and concentrate airborne agents by using an electrostatic precipitation (ESP) collection methodology, and presents the collected sample in dry form to an infrared (IR) spectrometer for in-situ detection and analysis (patent pending). This advances the state of the art by eliminating many of the logistical burdens typically associated with bioagent collection and preparation for analysis.

To achieve very low detection limits, the ESP collection module is designed to provide high collection efficiencies while optimizing optical throughput matching between the concentrated sample and the IR probe beam. Extensive testing of the ESP collector against aerosolized BG spores shows that, by monitoring key spectral signatures associated with the collected bacterial spores, the ESP-IR collection and detection system is capable of detecting 8,300 spores/L in 10 minutes. By combining a front-end high-volume-to-low-volume virtual impactor particle concentrator, it is anticipated that this detection limit would be improved to < 1000 spores/L (or approximately < 100 ACPLA) in 10 minutes.

The bio-aerosol detection system OSS is developing is a potential candidate for the Joint Point Biological Detection System (JPBDS). This technology will greatly benefit air monitoring efforts for military personnel and homeland security needs by providing a reagentless detection system that can discriminate bioagents from non-biological interfering materials.