Invitrogen Develops Prototype Hand-Held Biothreat Detectors Under $3.9M Contract From Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Carlsbad, CA - Invitrogen Corporation, a provider of essential life science technologies for disease research and drug discovery, recently announced that its subsidiary, Invitrogen Federal Systems, under a $3.9M contract from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), successfully completed the development of a prototype hand-held device for the detection of multiple biothreat agents in a single sample.
The portable pathogen detection system prototype is able to detect multiple toxins such as ricin, staphylococcal entrotoxin, and botulinum toxin, as well as bacteria that cause anthrax, plague, and other diseases, in a single sample. The hand-held device uses proprietary detection chemistries, an array-based disposable flow cell, and novel microfluidic engineering techniques that provide for sensitive and rapid detection. The portable detector is intended for laboratory, first responder, and field-based operations.
"We continue to leverage Invitrogen's broad portfolio of technologies for homeland security and biodefense applications, while transitioning these technologies to civilian applications such as testing water and foods for pathogens of significant concern to public health," said Paul Kinnon, Vice President and General Manager of Invitrogen's Applied Markets business unit.
The prototypes developed under this contract will be deployed to military laboratories for validation of the device in government testing. These units have been presented and highlighted by DTRA as a successful development effort at both the recent Department of Defense Chemical and Biological Defense Advance Planning Briefing for Industry in Washington D.C. in April, as well as the National Defense Industry Association Joint Chemical Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Conference and Exhibition in Fort Leonard Wood in June.
Invitrogen Federal Systems was also awarded an $887,906 modification to an existing contract with the U.S. Department of Defense – to date worth over $3.1 million – to produce and validate high density protein microarrays to detect biothreat agents. The U.S. Department of Defense contract modification will fund the continued development, validation and utilization of high density protein microarrays (ProtoArrays) for detection of the causative agents of plague, smallpox, anthrax, and a number of hemorrhagic diseases, such as ebola and dengue fever. The original $970,000 Technical Assistance Agreement was awarded in January 2006, with a $1,243,000 modification granted in September 2006.
ProtoArray protein microarrays consist of complete sets of pure, functional proteins from specific organisms spotted onto glass slides in a high density configuration and represent a means to significantly enhance the detection and analysis of biomolecular interactions.
Invitrogen's continued research on this project will be conducted under the direction of James Meegan, Ph.D., Senior Director of Research & Development at Invitrogen, and is designed to support the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command's (USAMRMC) mission to provide solutions to medical problems of importance to the American war fighter at home and abroad. Robert Ulrich, Ph.D. is responsible for scientific and technical conduct of this project at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).
"The protein arrays we are developing under this agreement and previous contracts will expedite the development of diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics and will help assess the level of protection and vulnerability of individuals and populations, both military and civilian, to threats by these specific biological agents. They will also enable the Department of Defense research community to explore the mechanism by which these microorganisms cause disease and the means by which man develops protective responses in new and unprecedented detail," explained Meegan.
SOURCE: Invitrogen Corporation