title: Automated screening for biological weapons in homeland defense.
abstract: Biological threat detection programs that collect air samples and monitor for large-scale release of biowarfare agents generate large numbers of samples that must be quickly and accurately screened for the presence of biological agents. An impediment to the rapid analysis of large numbers of environmental biological samples is that manual laboratory processes are time-consuming and require resources to maintain infrastructure, trained personnel, and adequate supplies of testing reagents. An ideal screening system would be capable of processing multiple samples rapidly, cost-effectively, and with minimal personnel. In the present study, we evaluated the Automated Biological Agent Testing System (ABATS) to explore the capability of automation to increase sample throughput, maximize system accuracy, and reduce the analysis costs associated with biological threat agent screening in environmental samples. This study demonstrates the utility of this concept and the potential of an automated system to address the growing environmental monitoring needs of the United States.
authors.affiliation: Critical Reagents Program, SFAE-CBD-CBMS-MITS, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21010, USA. peter.emanuel@us.army.mil
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Emanuel
authors.forename: Isaac R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Fruchey
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.forename: Kakoli
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Niyogi
authors.forename: Jason W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cullin
authors.forename: Diana C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Emanuel
mesh_terms: D001331:Automation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D001694:Biological Warfare / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002959:Civil Defense / Q000379:methods*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity