August 14, 2007. AlphaSniffer's President and CEO Dr. Mikhail ''Misha'' Plam pesents at the ''Systems Integration in Biodefense'' government sponsored conference at the Ritz Carlton, Washington, DC.

print back

On August 14 AlphaSniffer's President and CEO Dr. Misha Plam delivered a presentation at the "Systems Integration in Biodefense" conference in Washington, DC.

Conference keynote speakers included Mr. Jean D. Reed, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense and Chemical Demilitarization Programs; Dr Jerome A. Donlon, Chief Scientist, Office of Emergency Preparedness, Department of Health and Human Service; Dr John Vitko, Director Chemical and Biological Defense Division, Department of Homeland Security and other high-ranking government officials.

In his abstract, Dr Plam notes that currently deployable BWA detection technologies are neither fast to respond nor able to provide maintenance-free continuous monitoring for durations greater than a few days. Yet both of these criteria are critical for adequately protecting personnel and resources. AlphaSniffer’s Surface Plasmon Resonance-enhanced Common Path Interferometer (SPR-CPI) technology will provide a solution to these needs with a response time of a few minutes at Pentagon-mandated detection limits for all biological species of interest. The core unit consists of a static optical block that robustly houses critical components and an economical semi-consumable biochip that will contain an array with up to 100 features that will be used redundantly to detect up to 12 BWA agents and provide background control. The detection module demands only running buffer, utilizes no molecular labels, has no moving parts, uses less than 80W of power, has a size amenable to portability (300mm x 450mm x 150mm), and several prototypes are already under development. Longevity of replaceable biochip cartridges is targeted for 3 months during use with a 1 year shelf life. These parameters provide this novel BWA detection module high flexibility for a variety of potential instrument configurations and applications.

A PDF file with Dr Plam's presentation can be viewed here.