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Corporate and Government Mailrooms

ASAP II System for mailroom monitoring.September 11, 2001 made it clear that the United States is a prime terrorist target. One month later, the dispersion of anthrax in the mail along the Eastern Seaboard made the threat of bio-terrorism a reality. These events clearly demonstrate the large and immediate need for equipment to detect bio-agents in businesses that are icons of western culture.

Research International and American Safe Air have manufactured and installed three advanced Safe Mail Screening Rooms in the headquarters mailroom of a major commercial U.S. Bank as well as the US government and NGO mailrooms. Although protection of government facilities and the U.S. Postal Service has, of necessity, been the U.S. government’s primary focus, our financial institutions are also vulnerable through the mail. There is compelling evidence that banking facilities are being considered high-value targets by terrorists. Research International’s ASAP II bioidentification system, in combination with American Safe Air’s negative pressure mail room, provide a cost effective solution for the protection of banking community personnel and assets.

ASAP II continuously monitors for the presence of aerosol biohazards and will identify biological agents ranging from protein toxins to whole cells and spores as frequently as every 15 to 30 minutes. It is an integration of Research International's proven SASS® 2300 multiple-effect aerosol sampling technology with its RAPTOR™ four-channel bioidentification system.

The ASAP II comes with a small constant-temperature environmental enclosure that maximizes reagent life and unattended monitoring time or on request can be provided in component form for minimum weight and volume.

The aerosol collector, continuously samples air at 265 to 325 LPM and transfers aerosol particulates to a secondary water phase of about 4 ml volume. User modifiable software allows fluid samples to be periodically transferred from the air sampler to the RAPTOR bioidentifier. The RAPTOR then automatically performs a multi-step bioassay for up to four bio-targets using a small assay coupon. Each disposable 4-channel assay coupon may be reused from 20 to 50 times over a 24- to 48-hour unattended operating period, providing extremely cost-effective per-assay costs.

Developmental sandwich format fluoroimmunoassays are offered for ricin and anthrax. Various researchers have also demonstrated good sensitivity in a lab setting for a number of other BW agents including Francisella tularensis, Y. pestis F1 antigen, botulinium toxin, and Straphylococcus enterotoxin B.

Visit the ASAP II product page.

Sandwich Assays Performed with RAPTOR Bioassay System

Target Agent

Liquid Media

Approx. Detection Limit

References
Cocaine Urine 50ng/ml 6
TNT Water 440 ng/ml 5, 9, 11
RDX Water 1,000 ng/ml 5
Ovalbumin Water 5 ng/ml 18
Ricin Water <0.5 ng/ml 10, 15, 18, 19
Staphylococcal enterotoxin B Water 0.1-0.5 ng/ml 12, 15, 16, 18, 20
Cholera toxin Water 0.1-1 ng/ml 16, 20
D-dimer Blood plasma 200 ng/ml 8
Protein C Blood plasma 160 ng/ml 7
Bacillus globigii Water 2.5 x 104 CFU/ml 18, 20
Bacillus anthracis Water 30 CFU/ml Footnote (a)
Sterne strain, vegetative cells Whole blood 100 CFU/ml 18
Ames strain, irradiated spores Water 104 -105 CFU/ml 16, 18
Botulinium toxin Water 1 – 10 ng/ml 6, Footnote (a)
Erwinia herbicola Water 107 CFU/ml Footnote (a)
Yersinia pestis F1 antigen Water 1-5 ng/ml 15, 13, 18
Brucella abortus Water 7 x 104 CFU/ml 18
Francisella tularensis Water 5 x 104 CFU/ml 15, 18, 20
Escherichia coli O157:H7 Hamburger slurry 100-1000 CFU/g (direct) 2, 3, 4
　 " " 0.08-0.4 CFU/g (6 hour enrichment) 17
　 Raw sewage 1000 CFU/ml 16
Salmonella typhimurium Water 20,000 CFU/ml 14, 15, 16
Giardia lamblia Drinking Water 5 x 104/ml</2> 18
MS2 Water 109 pfu/ml 15
Vaccinia Water 105 pfu/ml 1
RSV Water Equiv. to std. ELISA Footnote (B)

Footnotes
(a) Private communication - G.P. Anderson, Naval Research Laboratory.
(b) Unpublished data - David McCrae & Ann Wilson, Research International.

REFERENCES

1) K. A. Donaldson, M. F. Kramer and D. V. Lim, "A rapid detection method for Vaccinia virus, the surrogate for smallpox virus," Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 20, 322-327 (2004).

2) D. R. DeMarco, and D. V. Lim, "Detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in 10- and 25-gram ground beef samples with an evanescent-wave biosensor with silica and polystyrene waveguides," J. Food Prot, 596-602 (2002).

3) D. Lim, "Rapid Biosensor Detection of Foodborne Microbial Pathogens," Microbiological methods Forum News, 18, 13-17 (June 2001).

4) D. V. Lim, "Rapid Pathogen Detection in the New Millennium," National Food Processors Association (NFPA) Journal, 13–17 (October 2000).

5) B. Bakaltcheva, F. S. Ligler, C. H. Patterson, and L. C. Shriver-Lake, "Multi-Analyte Explosive Detection using a Fiber Optic Sensor," Analytica Chima Acta, 399, 13–20 (1999).

6) N. Nath and M. Eldefrawi, J. Wright, D. Darwin and M. Huestis, "A Rapid Reusable Fiber Optic Biosensor for Detecting Cocaine Metabolites in Urine," Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 23, 460–467 (1999).

7) J. O. Spiker, K. A. Kang, W. N. Drohan, and D. F. Bruley, "Preliminary Study of Biosensor Optimization for the Detection of Protein C," Oxygen Transport to Tissue XX, Plenum Press, New York, 681-688 (1998).

8) B. A. Rowe, et al., "Rapid Detection of D-dimer Using a Fiber Optic Biosensor," Thromb. Haemost., 79, 94–98 (1998).

9) B. L. Donner, et al., "Transition from Laboratory to On-Site Environmental Monitoring of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene Using a Portable Fiber Optic Biosensor," ACS Symposium Series, 657 (Immunochemical Technology for Environmental Applications), 198–209 (1997).

10) U. Narang, et al., "Fiber Optic-Based Biosensor for Ricin," Biosensor & Bioelectronics, 12, 937–945 (1997).

11) L. C. Shriver-Lake, B. L. Donner, and F. S. Ligler, "On-Site Detection of TNT with a Portable Fiber Optic Biosensor," Environmental Science & Technology, 31, 837–841 (1997).

12) L. A. Tempelman, et al., "Quantitating Staphylcoccal Enterotoxin B in Diverse Media Using a Portable Fiber Optic Biosensor," Analytical Biochemistry, 233, 50–57 (1996).

13) K. Cao, G. P. Anderson, F. S. Ligler J. and Ezzel, "Detection of Yersinia pestis fraction 1 antigen with a fiber optic biosensor," J. Clin. Microbiol. 33, 336-341 (1995).

14) N. Nath and M. Eldefrawi, J. Wright, D. Darwin and M. Huestis, "A Rapid Reusable Fiber Optic Biosensor for Detecting Cocaine Metabolites in Urine," Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 23, 460–467 (1999).

15) D. R. DeMarco, et al., Rapid Detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Ground Beef Using a Fiber Optic Biosensor," Journal of Food Protection, 62, 711–716 (1999).

16) D. V. Lim, "Detection of microorganisms and toxins with evanescent wave fiber-optic biosensors," Proc. IEEE 91, 902-907 (2003).

17) T. B. Tims and D. V. Lim, "Confirmation of viable E. coli O157:H7 by enrichment and PCR after rapid biosensor detection," Journal of Microbiological Methods, 55, 141-147 (2003).

18) G. P. Anderson, C. A. Rowe-Taitt, and F. S. Ligler, "RAPTOR: A Portable, Automated Biosensor," First Conference on Point Detection for Chemical and Biological Defense (October 2000).

19) Ellen R. Goldman, Mehran P. Pazirandeh, J. Matthew Mauro, Keeley D. King, Julie C. Frey and George P. Anderson, " Phage-displayed peptides as biosensor reagents," Journal of Molecular Recognition, 13 (6), 382 – 387, 2000.

20) G. P. Anderson, K. D. King, K. L. Gaffney, and L. H. Johnson, "Multi-Analyte Interrogation Using the Fiber Optic Biosensor," Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 14, 771–777 (2000).

21) R. A. Ogert, et al., "Detection of Clostridium botulinium Toxin A Using a Fiber Optic-Based Biosensor," Analytical Biochemistry, 205, 306–312 (1992).

 

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