Biological agent detection with the use of an airborne biosensor

The ability to identify aerosolized bacteria remotely with the use of a small unpiloted, all-electric aircraft was demonstrated. Swallow, an aircraft custom-built for the purpose of air-particle collection, was catapult-launched, flown by line of sight for 20-min missions, and recovered by landing on a short runway. Once airborne, the sensor payload, which included a particle collector, fluidics control unit, and biosensor, was activated. The sensor utilized was the Analyte 2000 fiber optic biosensor, which performs four simultaneous fluorescent sandwich immunoassays on the surface of tapered optical probes. Five-minute test cycles were conducted continuously and monitored at the ground station until the plane returned. Then Swallow and its sensor payload could be ready for additional flights within 30 min of landing. During the trial, Swallow successfully collected and identified an aerosolized bacterial sample. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.* Field Analyt Chem Technol 3: 307–314, 1999