Thrust 3: Biosensors, Bioinformatics, and Bionanotechnology

Investigators: Glenn, Jejelowo, Pourmand, Kazakos

With the launching of satellites and rockets from earth, man introduces microorganisms, including fungi, bacteria, and viruses, to space habitats. These microbial travel companions impact astronaut health and damage construction materials. Lack of timely detection in the crew atmosphere or in the air processing system can lead to delayed response, increasing hazards to the crew. Thus, the ability to identify (potentially mixed populations of) microorganisms in spacecrafts rapidly is essential for future space missions. Our development of microarray-based microbe identification systems will address this critical need.

Sensitive high-throughput microbial analysis for basic research and NASA applications is not easily performed with current technologies. We will develop two novel technologies: low cost, portable, and highly sensitive sensors to detect microbial proteins (nanopipette) and microbial DNA.

Objective 1. To develop a microarray-based platform to identify microbes in space. This research will focus on fungi and oomycetes. We will develop a microarray platform to identify fungi in spacecraft.

Objective 2. To develop a DNA hybridization-based portable microbial detector. We are on track to developing an ultra-sensitive, handheld device to rapidly and accurately detect microbial, and viral DNA, by combining existing technologies such as bioluminescence signal amplification, photodiode sensor technology, and genomic primer extension probes.

Objective 3. To develop a multiplexed nanopipette system that detects proteins for microbial identification. We are developing a simple and sensitive multiplexed nanopipette microbial detection system to detect proteins from viruses, fungi or bacteria in different clinical and environmental samples. This technology has the potential to enable sensitive, high-capacity microbial specific surface protein detection using an electrical rather than chemical readout, with improved robustness, integration, reproducibility, and turnover.

Objective 4. To employ bioinformatics and statistical techniques to test and verify proposed methods and results.