Research
Biological Warfare

Anthrax Dectectors Are Coming

10-30-2001 A researcher working under an Office of Naval Research grant is just a couple of months away from completing a prototype detector designed to sound the alarm when airborne microbes such as anthrax are in the air.

Dr. Jeanne Small, a biophysicist and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Eastern Washington University in

Cheney, Wash., has come up with a detector that continuously samples the air, offering analysis in under a half-hour. "Our research showed that common substances such as road dust and soot behaved differently than bacteria," Small said.

Dr. Small has successfully tested biological particles ranging in size from 1 to 10 microns by using lasers and acoustic sensors to detect and identify microbes. In the research, laser pulses were used to excite light-absorbing substances that release energy as heat. Heat-induced solvent expansion generated sound waves, which were measured by an ultrasonic transducer.

Working with Dr. Small is InnovaTek (http://www.tekkie.com), a Richland, Wash., company that makes the air sampler, and Quantum Northwest (http://www.qnw.com) in Spokane, Wash., is building the sensor component.

Note: This story on anthrax detectors has been adapted from a news release issued by Office Of Naval Research for journalists and other members of the public. If you wish to quote from any part of this story on anthrax, please credit Office Of Naval Research as the original source. This article was taken from Science Daily, www.sciencedaily.com.

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