NEW YORK (360Dx) – Bruker said last week it has acquired a portable immunoassay-based platform for the rapid detection of bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
The company did not disclose the purchase price or the company from which it acquired the technology, but said in a statement that the assets include "intellectual property, a field-portable, electrochemical chip-based detection instrument, and associated consumable kits."
According to the company, the platform, called the portable Bio-Detector integrated (pBDi), can detect up to six organisms or toxins per assay chip with typical assay time of around 20 minutes. The company added that the platform is intended for use by non-scientific personnel and by users wearing protective gear.
Among the organisms and toxins that can be detected by the device are Bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, Francisella tularensis, Brucella, Burkholderia mallei/pseudomallei, Orthopox viruses, Botulinum toxins, Staphylococcal Enterotoxin, Ricin, and Abrin.
"The new pBDi system leverages our recently acquired capabilities in monoclonal antibody production to enable new, fieldable immunoassay workflows for fast toxin, viral, and bacterial detection, in the future also in clinical and food microbiology," Wolfgang Pusch, executive president of microbiology and diagnostics at Bruker, said in a statement.