SBIR-STTR Award

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) cost the U.S. economy ~$50 million per year. Early detection of blooms and a rapid response by state and federal resource managers are the most effective ways to mitigate the impacts of HABs. However, methods for detecting HAB species and their toxins are laborious, time-consuming and require expensive equipment. To overcome these problems, Lynntech proposes to build an automated field instrument for detecting toxigenic HAB organisms and their toxins from mixed phytoplankton assemblages. The detection method will be innovative, cost-effective, rapid, accurate, and quantitative. Direct oxidation of guanine residues of ribosomal RNAs lysed from algae cells captured by species-specific probes immobilized onto an electrode will provide the necessary sensitivity without target or signal amplification. Also, an innovative, inexpensive device will be used for biotoxin detection. The final systm can potentially be installed on moored buoy or ship-deployed vehicles for automated monitoring with real-time data access capability.

Potential Commercial Applications:
The proposed integrated nucleic acid and biotoxin detection device would b e a significant benefit to state and federal resource managers who are often required to make quick decisions to safeguard public health, local economies, and fisheries with limited HAB data. Related markets would include seafood safety testing and a broad range of marine, estuary, and freshwater environmental applications such as disease detection and rapid recognition of unwanted "invader" species. Lynntech’s core electrochemical detection technology are also envisioned to lead to marketable devices for both government and civilian uses such as biosensors for countering biological warfare and biological terrorism, hand-held devices for point-of-card medical diagnostics, and biochips for genomic research

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a serious threat to coastal resources, causing impacts ranging from the contamination of seafood products with potent toxins to mortalities of wild and farmed fish and other marine animals. HABs cost the U.S. economy over $50 million annually due to the closure of fisheries and beaches and the treatment of human illness from toxin exposures. NOAA is interested in technologies that will allow timely HAB species and toxins detection as they represent critical components of HAB management plans in which rapid response by resource managers are the most effective way to mitigate HAB impacts. Also, when integrated into coastal observing systems, the technologies will yield enormous advancements in monitoring temporalspatial progression of HABs and forecasting their threats. Current HAB detection methods are laborious, time-consuming and costly. To overcome these problems, Lynntech proposes to develop an automated dual-function field instrument for detecting both HAB nucleic acid and toxins. The platform technology will be innovative, cost-effective, rapid, accurate, and quantitative. The system can potentially be installed on moored buoy or ship-deployed vehicles for automated monitoring with real-time data access capability. Phase I results using the automated procedures were similar to those generated using labor-intensity microtiter procedures.

Potential Commercial Applications:
The proposed nucleic acid and biotoxin detection device platform would be a significant benefit to state and federal resource managers who are often required to make quick decisions to safeguard public health, local economies, and fisheries with limited HAB data. Related markets would include seafood safety testing and a broad range of marine, estuary, and freshwater environmental applications such as disease detection and rapid recognition of unwanted "invader" species. The platform technology can also be adapted into marketable devices for both government and civilian uses such as biosensors for countering biological warfare and biological terrorism, and point-of-care medical diagnostics.