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A portable "tricorder" capable of testing biological contamination in real time has been a science fiction fan's dream for decades.
And UBC Okanagan engineers say technology is closer to science than ever before.
With the help of an inexpensive and inexpensive biosensor, researchers at the Faculty of Engineering have developed a new, inexpensive technique that can quickly and accurately detect cryptosporidium contamination in specimens. # 39; water.
Cryptosporidium is an intestinal pathogen and one of the leading causes of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases in the world. Drinking water contaminated with the parasite can cause diarrhea and, in extreme cases, even death.
"Current methods of detecting cryptosporidium require filtering large amounts of water, separating organisms, staining them with a fluorescence tag, and trying to identify the pathogen." with the help of a microscope, "says George Luka, PhD student at the School of Engineering's UBC's lead author of the study. "The process is extremely slow, expensive and does not give reliable results."
Luka said that it was urgent to develop a fast, flexible, accurate and real-time detection tool to meet the challenge of protecting consumers from water against this common and potentially dangerous contaminant.
To solve this problem, Luka and his colleagues tested a specially designed and calibrated biosensor. Using various concentrations of the pathogen in water samples, they were able to establish its ability to detect cryptosporidium contamination.
"The biosensor worked exactly as we had hoped and was able to quickly measure cryptosporidium contamination without resorting to complex preparations and highly skilled technicians," says Luka. "This is an impressive solution that can easily be integrated with inexpensive and portable devices to test drinking water in real time, anywhere in the world."
Luka also said the biosensor could be expanded to measure other biomarkers and other hazards.
"The technology has real potential for testing all kinds of biological contamination, both in medical and environmental applications. A portable sensor that tests the safety of our water and our environment may soon become a reality. "
The research was recently published in Sensors magazine and was funded by the Indo-Canadian Center for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Transformation and Community Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS).
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