Combating Terrorism: New Technologies for the Detection of Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Ag

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Combating Terrorism New Technologies for the
Detection of Chemical, Biological, and
Radiological Agents

• University of Rochester Medical Center
• Center for Disaster Medicine and Emergency
  Preparedness
• Tener Goodwin Veenema PhD, MPH, MS

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Peter Estacio, PhD, M.D., MPHSenior Medical
AdvisorUnited States Department of Homeland
Security

• Overview of the Department of Homeland Security
  agency organization programs
• Bio-Watch- national program places collectors
  in key cities locations that are designated
  threat areas. Portable detection collectors
  use a PCR REACTIVE- uses a DNA assay.
• Bio-Sense- looks at surveillance data to detect
  an event
• Bio-Shield- Countermeasures, vaccines,
  medications

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Biodetectors

• WHAT IS IT?IS IT ALIVE?WHO HAS BEEN EXPOSED?
• Many types of diagnostic tools available
• How can meaningful and reliable data be collected
  and fused??
• For act of bioterrorism the first responders are
  the members of the medical community.

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Mark Sullivan PhDPediatrics and Center for Human
Genetics and Molecular Pediatric Disease

• Antibodies provide a well tested mechanism for
  molecular recognition
• Protein engineering of antibody sequences is
  readily accomplished to facilitate linkage to new
  biosensor platforms
• Ability to engineer these antibodies to improve
  their properties
• Phage display allows very rapid identification of
  new binding specificities and convenient
  production in microbes.

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Andy Karam PhDResearch Assistant
ProfessorRochester Institute of Technology

• Need to detect radiological or nuclear weapons
  upon entry into the US
• Need to be able to determine the radiation dose
  to victims of an attack
• Need to help emergency and medical responders who
  may not have the time or training to interpret
  radiological measurements
• Need to develop an attachable detector to a PDA
  style instrument pre-programmed for each type of
  user

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Andy Karam PhDResearch Assistant
ProfessorRochester Institute of Technology

• Biodosimetry in the event of a radiological or
  nuclear attack, it will be necessary to be able
  to quickly determine dose to exposed victims
• Need to quickly perform dosimetry between 100 and
  1000 rem
• May have hundreds or thousands of exposed people
• Clinicians need to be able to quickly determine
  who will benefit from medical intervention and
  who needs comfort care

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Benjamin Miller PhD Associate ProfessorDepartment
of DermatologyUniversity of Rochester

• Challenges in developing biosensors include
  sampling, sampling prep, recognition,
  transduction, and readout
• Three new label-free technologies under
  development at the U of R, porous silicon,
  reflective interferometry
• Molecular beacon technique- uses immobilized
  molecular beacons as solution probes (high
  sensitivity and specificity, even with
  single-based mutations)

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Benjamin Miller PhD Associate ProfessorDepartment
of DermatologyUniversity of Rochester

• The ability to identify how much of an organism
  is presents is just as important as identifying
  which organism is present.
• The future-- we will move from single yes/no
  sensors to multi-analytic, arrayed devices,
  using probe molecules identified from
  combinatorial technology borrowed from basic
  biology and the pharmaceutical industry

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Lewis Rothberg, PhD Professor of
ChemistryDepartment of ChemistryUniversity of
Rochester

• Focus on the transduction end of Biosensor
  development
• Model is home pregnancy test
• DNA sequence detection based on electrostatic
  interaction between DNA and negatively charged
  gold nanoparticles.
• Novel sensing applications based on these
  observations colormetric detection of DNA
  oligonucleotides, colormetric detection of PCR
  amplified DNA, flourescent detection of DNA.

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Philippe Fauchet, PhD Professor of
ChemistryDepartment of ChemistryDirector,
Center for Future HealthUniversity of Rochester

• Practical Biosensing Platforms
• Collaborative model with RPI, RIT community
  colleges.
• Many novel types of biosensors have been
  developed including Biosensors with Psi
  microcavities-Technology based on silicon,
  inexpensive technology and easy to mass produce.
• All the sensors are being made in arrays and are
  being integrated in complete systems.
• Biosensors need to be cheap, rugged, reliable and
  made for real time response.

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David Chafin PhDDirector of Research and
DevelopmentIntegrated Nano-Technologies, LLC.

• System requirements accurate, sensitive, rapid,
  portable and easy to use
• BioDetect- a highly sensitive and rapid DNA
  identification technology
• Allows multiple tests per single BioDetect chip
  (based on a silicon microchip, 88 sites)
• Technology has both military and non-military
  applications
• Collaboration between INT, U of R and RIT

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Harry Stephanou, PhDDirector Center for
Automation TechnologiesRensselaer Polytechnic
Institute

• Integrated Microsensor Technology-
  Multifunctional microparts
• Issues with Assembly, interconnects, packaging
  and testing (nano-humans?)
• Challenge- faster, better, cheaper
• Modular, heterogeneous systems
• Reduced cost and time to market

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Peter Estacio, PhD, M.D., MPHSenior Medical
AdvisorUnited States Department of Homeland
Security andGary A. Roselle, MDProgram Director
for Infectious Diseases, VA Central OfficeThe
Department of Veterans Affairs

• Now what?
• What are the implications of a signal?
• What happens when there is a signal?
• What will be the information needs?
• What are the components of surveillance systems?
• What is the purpose of a national surveillance
  system? Multiple systems exist.
• Surveillance systems and Challenges, does any
  system really work?

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This was great- now where do we go from here?
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Practical in academe is a tall order,- we need
to get from my neck of the woods to your neck of
the woods

• Philippe Fauchet,PhD

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Conference pearls

• Enhance collaboration between academic
  institutions and our corporate colleagues
• Garner increases in funding through a number of
  sustainable sources
• Identify sustainable market
• Translate research results into meaningful
  applications for first responders (nano-first
  responders?)

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Summary

• Critical to create a meaningful interface between
  the parallel brain trusts in academia and
  corporate science
• Increased collaboration across disciplines will
  provide advancement of the state of the science
  serendipitous benefits
• Opportunity to directly impact upon the health of
  the public