The continued evolution of bacterial and fungal species poses a significant difficulty for the treatment of disease of microbial origin. Given this situation, the prevention of transmission of such microbial diseases becomes of increasing importance. Efforts of this laboratory have been directed toward the destruction of microbial species on environmental surfaces as a prophylaxis toward infection, and we herein report on the efficacy of a system that demonstrates activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as fungi. We report specifically herein on the use of fabric materials so activated for the destruction of these microbial species, useful for a variety of surfaces within hospital and related settings wherein transmission of microbial disease is a major problem, while these approaches are also applicable for a variety of other types of surfaces.
This project uses function-based detection via a fundamental understanding of the genetic markers of AR to distinguish harmful organisms from innocuous ones. This approach circumvents complex analyses to unravel the taxonomic details of 1399 pathogen species, enormously simplifying detection requirements. Laval Hospital's fast permeabilization strategy enables AR revelation in <1hr. Packaging the AR protocols in liquid-processing cartridges and coupling these to our in-house miniature fiber optic flow cell (FOFC) provides first responders with timely information on-site. INO's FOFC platform consists of a specialty optical fiber through which a hole is transversally bored by laser micromachining. The analyte solution is injected into the hole of the fiber and the particles are detected and counted. The advantage with respect to classic free space FC is that alignment occurs in the fabrication process only and complex excitation and collection optics are replaced by optical fibers. Moreover, we use a sheathless configuration which has the advantage of increase the portability of the system, to reduce excess biohazard material and the need for weekly maintenance. In this paper we present the principle of our FOFC along with a, demonstration of the basic capability of the platform for detection of bacillus cereus spores using permeabilized staining.
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