SITIS Topic Details |
||||||
| Proposals Accepted: | |
| Program: | SBIR |
| Topic Number: | A10-157 (Army) |
| Title: | Engineered Bacterial Cells for Rapid Toxicity Evaluations of Drinking Water | Research & Technical Areas: | Biomedical, Human Systems |
| Acquisition Program: | Office of the Principal Assistant for Acquisition | Objective: | Develop a rapid toxicity test using bacterial cells engineered for responsiveness to a wide range of chemicals in water and having a resistant resting stage capable of long-term survival with minimal effects from environmental factors such as temperature.
| Description: | As part of a research program to identify environmental hazards to soldiers resulting from exposure to toxic industrial chemicals (TICs), the U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research (USACEHR) is seeking new methods for providing rapid toxicity evaluation of water samples. Rapid toxicity test kits for water (e.g., US EPA, 2006) can be useful for evaluating drinking water quality, but many tests have a limited capability for rapid response to a wide range of TICs (van der Schalie et al., 2006) and most require substantial control of environmental parameters (such as temperature) to facilitate reagent or test system shelf life, which limits use of the tests under field conditions. Current bacterial toxicity tests, such as those using luminescent marine bacteria, respond to many chemicals and, in general, require minimal care. While these tests have limitations, including low sensitivity to some toxicants for which appropriate receptor pathways are absent (e.g., neurotoxicants), potential interference from non-toxic materials such as nutrients (Hansen and Sorensen, 2001) and the need for refrigeration of either bacteria or test reagents, there are opportunities for substantial improvement, such as genetic engineering approaches to increase sensitivity (Yagi, 2006), stabilization techniques to reduce or eliminate the need for refrigerated storage (Kuppardt et al., 2009; Bjerketorp et al., 2006), and the use of spore-forming bacteria to lengthen viability under a range of storage conditions (Date et al., 2007). We are seeking innovative and creative research and development to provide an efficient, rapid screening tool using bacterial cells for a broad range of TICs in water samples without interference from normal field water constituents while minimizing the need for environmental control during storage or testing.
| PHASE I: Conduct research to provide a proof of concept demonstration of a toxicity sensor device for water. Note that because the recommended test chemicals are intended to represent a broader range of toxicants, analyte-specific sensors for these individual chemicals are not an appropriate solution to this topic. Design and performance considerations for a proof of concept demonstration are listed below.
1. The bacterial test system must be responsive to toxicity induced by different modes of toxic action representative of a broad spectrum of TICs. To represent a significant improvement over available test kits, the test system must respond within 60 minutes to at least 8 of 12 chemicals used by van der Schalie et al. (2006) at concentrations above the 7-14 day Military Exposure Guideline (MEG) levels for each chemical (USACHPPM, 2004) but less than the estimated human lethal concentration (van der Schalie et al., 2006).
2. Minimal time (30 minutes or less) should be required to prepare the test system and the biological component for use after a water sample is provided for testing.
3. The test system and its components, including consumables, should remain viable for at least six months without the need for temperature or other environmental controls.
4. The test system should require minimal processing steps and should be capable of being transitioned to a battery-powered hand-held device.
| PHASE II: Expand upon the Phase I proof of concept demonstration to construct a hand-held prototype toxicity sensor device. Show the device sensitivity (with respect to the 7-14 day MEG concentration for water) and response rapidity (within an hour) with at least 20 chemicals with varying modes of toxic action for which MEGs and human lethal concentrations are available. Demonstrate viability of test system components under environmental conditions likely to be encountered in field testing. The device should have minimum logistical requirements and provide for straightforward data interpretation. Demonstrate that the device can function without false alarms in water matrices typical of Army field water supplies. Provide two toxicity sensor devices for independent evaluation and testing.
| PHASE III: Evaluate the ability of the toxicity sensor device to identify the suitability of drinking water for deployed troops under field conditions. Field tests will involve testing at Army water production facilities. Military users include Preventive Medicine (PM) personnel at Level III PM Detachments, Level II Brigade Combat Teams, or other line units for whom the ability to rapidly detect chemical toxicity in field water will help accomplish their assigned water quality surveillance and risk assessment missions. This device will be an important component of the Environmental Sentinel Biomonitor (ESB) system for drinking water evaluation. Given current on-going concerns regarding accidental or intentional contamination of water supplies, this technology will have broad application for water utilities as well as state and local governments. A well-formulated marketing strategy will be critical for success in these commercial applications.
| References: | 1.Bjerketorp J, Hakansson S, Belkin S, Jansson J.K. 2006. Advances in preservation methods: keeping biosensor microorganisms alive and active. Curr. Opin. Biotech.17:1-7. 2. Date A, Pasini P, Daunert S. 2007. Construction of spores for portable bacterial whole-cell biosensing systems. Anal. Chem. 79:9391-9397. 3. Kuppardt A, Chatzinotas A, Breuer U, van der Meer JR, Harms H. 2009. Optimization of preservation conditions of As (III) bioreporter bacteria. Appl. Microbiol. Biotech. 82:785-792. 4. U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM), Version 1.3—Updated May 2003 with January 2004 Addendum. Chemical Exposure Guidelines for Deployed Military Personnel. Technical Guide (TG)-230. U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. (http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/documents/TG/TECHGUID/TG230.pdf) 5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). 2006. Rapid Toxicity Test Systems. Environmental Technology Verification program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, http://www.epa.gov/etv/vt-ams.html#rtts |
| Keywords: | toxicity sensor, toxic industrial chemicals, drinking water, bacteria |
Questions and Answers: |
No questions posed on this topic at this time |
As of midnight September 1, questions for solicitations SBIR 10.3 and STTR 10.B will no longer be accepted.
To read the solicitation for full proposal preparation and submission details click here. |