KANSAS CITY, MO (August 17, 2005) - Sceptor Industries (www.sceptorindustries.com) has introduced the first of its new BioSim™ biological simulant materials, which are used to provide a safe quality control test to ensure that biohazard detectors are operating properly.
The new BioSim Bg material uses DNA from Bacillus globigii to trigger a response from a standard Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) device used to detect anthrax. Other particle types are under development for use with other detection methods, such as immunoassay and fluorescence. BioSim products which simulate additional threats may also be developed in the future.
“Accurate, reliable biohazard detection is very important in the defense against bioterror,” said Freeman Swank, Engineering Manager at Sceptor. “But since detection systems are so complex, and there’s so little end-to-end testing being done, how do we know they’re working properly?
“BioSim lets us verify that these detectors are doing their job, without taking the risk of using actual disease organisms to test them.”
According to Swank, other quality control testing methods require the release of either non-viable versions of the organism the detector is designed to measure, or live (viable) organisms similar to the target hazard. Releasing these organisms can expose people to potential disease agents or allergens in the area where the test is being conducted. It can also contaminate the facility.
Removing detectors from a facility for testing to avoid these problems, then reinstalling them, is expensive and time-consuming and may also be counterproductive, since handling the systems can affect performance.
BioSim material, by contrast, poses no such difficulties because it does not contain complete organisms, viable or non-viable. The material consists of tiny (1 micron range) plastic beads, which are coated with biomolecules that mimic the characteristic signature of a specific biohazard, such as anthrax.
The beads simulate the physical and molecular characteristics of the organism. As a result, their presence will trigger a properly functioning detector and confirm that it will recognize the hazard it was designed to detect.
Because BioSim does not use actual organisms, it has been found safe for R&D use by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Its minute dosing levels, the ease with which the particulate’s genetic signature can be destroyed, and the speed at which the signature degrades in the air mean that it will not cause problematic facility contamination or increases in false positive detection rates.
Accurate Measurements According to Swank, because BioSim material is laboratory engineered to specific ratios, and the dispensing device is highly repeatable, it produces a highly accurate test.
“BioSim beads match the size and density of the target organism, so they disperse through a facility in much the same way,” he said.
This makes it possible to use BioSim not only for quality assurance on detectors, but to predict detector behavior in an actual emergency. BioSim can also be used as a safe way to provide training for detector operators.
About Sceptor Industries Sceptor Industries (www.sceptorindustries.com) is a privately held corporation focusing on biological and chemical air safety. Sceptor provides program management and life science expertise, and develops and deploys biological and chemical defense and indoor air quality technologies for commercial, military and homeland defense requirements. Its products include air samplers and related technologies.
Media Contact: Tom Lento, InterComm, Inc. Phone: (732) 940-0545 Email: tomlento@att.net