NEW PORTABLE LED GERMICIDAL DETECTOR FOR SPACE

For Immediate Release/01-24-07/Lorraine Pace


COMMERCE, Texas - Imagine people living together in a dorm room that has been sealed for a month. Think of the bacteria and fungus that develops in those conditions.

Most people think of a spacecraft as sterile, but people bring with them on their clothing and body a host of bacteria and fungus that thrive in space. Everywhere people live, germs follow.

Astronauts are not the only people keen to clean up their space. Places like hospitals and people such as emergency response workers, need portable devices that can tell them what is in contaminated water and air for proper management of emergency operations like Hurricane Katrina.

Texas A&M University-Commerce scientists and students are working on such a device where fluorescence on bacteria and fungus will be detectable under light emitting diode (LED) lights using fluorescence, funded by a grant from NASA and Txas A&M Engineering's Space Engineering Institute.

"This instrument will enable astronauts to obtain more accurate and complete information while in orbit, resulting in their requiring fewer resupplies because stocks have been contaminated, and reducing the need for ground-based analysis of microbiological samples," says biology professor Dr. Frank Miskevich.

While the current project is to explore the feasibility of LED-based ultra-violet sterilization under the requirements imposed by space vehicles, this biological detection device would be inexpensive to operate and maintain so even non-expert users would benefit from its rapid results.

"Ultraviolet light is a known germicidal technique, but is not well-studied using LED light source," says Miskevich. "Using low power UV-C LED emitters to irradiate and kill organisms by fragmenting their DNA offers several advantages over current decontamination techniques.

"A UV-LED powered sterilizer may theoretically be used to sterilize drinking water in isolated areas where contamination is a known problem.

"The low power of LEDs make them suitable for a robust portable detector designed for field use in monitoring onboard environmental conditions in restricted areas such as space vehicles or submarines, as well as by emergency response personnel such as fire fighters or medics," he says.

The first step of this project is to research and develop a process for capturing, detecting, and counting bacteria and fungi on samples by using a dye which fluoresces when bound to DNA. All bacteria and fungi use DNA as their genetic material.

"To accurately detect what type of organisms are in a sample we will be using specific antibodies against organisms and spores," says Miskevich. "Detection of bacteria in various samples is an important goal of environmental monitoring."

The device will use low power LEDs for illumination, optical lenses to capture the image, and a digital imaging sensor to obtain the image while a java-based image analysis package will automate the image counts.

The LED-based ultra-violet sterilization device is being created by a small team in A&M-Commerce's Industrial Engineering and Technology department while the biological detection techniques are being developed by the Biology Department.

Other primary members of the research team are Dr. Ben Cranor, Dr. Mary Johnson and students Jeremy Harr, Tiffany Selvidge, Jessica Covington, and Sophanit Metaferia.

Says Selvidge, a senior biology major from Rowlett, "I'm excited to work on this project because it's something new and especially because it is something that could be used by NASA in their spacecraft."

Selvidge is working with E.coli bacteria, staining the DNA with fluorescent dye, and using the amount of light to determine the bacteria's resistance to antibiotics. For Selvidge, this research is a breeze. In a previous unrelated study Selvidge, who is diminutive, climbed 8,500 feet with a 50-pound backpack to research nesting birds on a Southern Arizona mountain.

In addition to inventing and testing this device, the scientists intend to present their results at scientific meetings and publish the results in peer-reviewed journals.

The Space Engineering Institute is an academic program conducted by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station's Spacecraft Technology Center. Among other goals, the SEI program aims to provide practical training that encourages students to pursue engineering degrees leading to careers in space systems.



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For Immediate Release/01-24-07/Lorraine Pace

A&M-C STUDENTS PRESENT RESEARCH AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER



WAR ON GERMS IN SPACE - Everywhere people live, germs follow - even in space. To monitor bacterial and fungal growth in space, students and faculty at Texas A&M University-Commerce are building a new portable germicidal detection device using LED lights to be employed in spacecraft by NASA. Tiffany Selvidge, a Texas A&M University-Commerce senior biology major, works with e.coli bacteria and stains the DNA with a fluorescent dye to determine its resistance to antibiotics and records results. Selvidge and fellow students Jeremy Harr, Jessica Covington, and Sophanit Metaferia presented the results of their research at a Space Engineering Institute symposium held at NASA's Johnson Space Center Jan. 18-19. They are directed in their research by Dr. Frank Miskevich, Dr. Ben Cranor, and Dr. Mary Johnson as part of a NASA and Space Engineering Institute funded grant through TEES.



(A&M-Commerce photo/Lorraine Pace)