Description:
Toxins found in water, shellfish and fish threaten human health and result in significant economic losses. This is particularly true of the toxins produced by harmful algal blooms which are becoming more frequent. Consequently, there is a need for rapid, easy to use and inexpensive detection methodologies which allow resource managers, public health officials, aquaculturists, and commercial and recreational fishers to detect toxins. Of particular concern are toxins from harmful algae. One approach to developing such technologies which has shown great promise is the use of electrochemical detection. A major advantage of these technologies is that they provide an unambiguous digital readout. This contrasts with current field test technologies which depend largely on interpretation of color change in order to estimate toxin concentrations. The primary impediment to broadly employing this technology to water, fish and shellfish toxin analysis is that the typical electrode design depends on incubating a small amount of sample on top of a fixed electrode surface. Having to use a small volume of sample often limits the sensitivity of the assay such that only toxin levels at or above the regulatory limit can be reliably measured. To overcome these limitations, we are seeking proposals for the development of a flow through membrane-based electrode technology which can concentrate the toxin and which allows interfering compounds to be rapidly rinsed away prior to detecting the toxin.
