Bioanalytical assay for bacteria in soil
INTEGRAMplus partners IMM, QinetiQ and Epigem are developing a microfluidics enabled bioanalytical assay to address the problem of identifying bacteria in a soil sample. A tool kit approach was adopted with a series of interlinked modules providing the analytical system from sample preparation to positive identification of teh target bacteria (E.Coli 0157).
Selectivity for the E. Coli strain was achieved by using an antibody / enzyme and antibody / magnetic particle combination in a buffer solution. A sample extraction module filtered the bacteria from the soil and mixed in the reagents. A microfluidic magnetic capture, concentrator and separation module was used to wash the capture bacteria and to then mix with a second set of reagents that produced a colour change when incubated with the captured enzyme. A Silicon hollow waveguide detector was used to monitor the colour change confirming the presence of the target bacteria.