The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California has announced a new tool that will aid law enforcement in detecting and identifying the agents of a bioterrorism attack.
The Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA), developed between October 2007 and February 2008, detects viruses and bacteria using 388,000 probes arranged in a checkerboard pattern in the middle of a one-inch-wide by three-inch-long glass slide. The current version contains probes that can detect more than 2,000 viruses and about 900 bacteria within a 24-hour period.
“The ability to detect the major bacterial and viral components of any sample can be used in countless different ways,” said Tom Slezak, the program’s associate leader for informatics. “This is important because it fills a cost-performance gap that is relevant to many missions: biodefense, public health and product safety.”
“The LLMDA allows us to not only identify the biological pathogens on a priority screening list, but also any other already-sequenced bacteria or virus in a sample that you might not have been expecting to find, including possible novel or emerging pathogens,” he added.
The team is already testing a next-generation LLMDA with 2.1 million probes and they plan to update probes with new sequences of bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms every year.
The detection array will be evaluated for operational bio-forensic use at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Maryland.
http://www.gsnmagazine.com/article/20722/national_lab_has_victory_fight_against_bioterroris
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