A grant to a Virginia Tech veterinary bacteriologist will lead to the study of detection of bacterial agents that could be used as weapons. Thomas Inzana (right) of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Tech, has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop such a diagnostic test.He and two co-investigators (James “Randy” Heflin and Abey Bandera) are working to develop nanoscale optical fiber biosensor tests, or assays, for detection. At this point, testing involves either the use of cultures or antibody-based testing.
Both require extensive materials and training, and the results can take days or weeks. “This assay will be rugged, portable, inexpensive, and rapid,” said Inzana. “All of these are critical to minimizing the affect on an intentionally introduced biological weapon.”
The increased speed of detection allowed by this new, optical fiber assay will also increase the speed of treatment for those affected, according to Inzana.
(From press release.)
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