Portable Siphon Unit to Concentrate Pond
Water and Bacteria into a more Manageable,
Portable Sample
Fruits and vegetables are an important
component of the U.S. diet. Fresh produce is
vulnerable to contamination at any point in
the supply chain. Produce can become
contaminated at many different steps – on
the farm; in packing, processing or
distribution facilities; during transit; at
retail and food service establishments; and
in the home. In addition, because most
produce is grown in an outdoor environment,
it is vulnerable to contamination from
pathogens that may be present in the soil,
in agricultural or processing water, in
manure used as fertilizer, or due to the
presence of animals in or near fields or
packing areas. When an outbreak does occur,
FDA’s main priority is to reduce the number
of illnesses by faster and more accurate
product tracing to quickly identify the
source of contamination. Water may be the
source of contamination and is often
suspected during produce outbreaks. The
quick and rapid identification of the source
can assist in more rapid identification of
the implicated product(s).
One of the challenges that FDA
investigators face is the collection of
large amounts of pond water to test for the
source of bacterial contamination during
outbreaks. The investigator’s job is to
collect pond water and transport the samples
to microbiology labs, a procedure that often
entails interstate shipping of the samples.
Sampling must be done using a battery
operated pump, since most farms are located
in rural areas without an electrical power
supply. To recover a small concentration of
bacteria, large amounts of pond water (10
liters) are required to be tested. While
collecting 10 liters of pond water increases
the possibility of finding the bacterial
strain causing the outbreak, it is extremely
difficult to sample and ship that much pond
water. Therefore, an automated process to
concentrate the amount of bacteria in 10
liters into a smaller, more manageable,
testable, portable 10ml sample is very much
needed. The solving of this problem will
help the FDA investigators do their job more
effectively and efficiently.
Develop and demonstrate a portable battery
operated system that can siphon pond water
that is full of slime, algae and other
sediments (mud and different size
particles), then decrease the size of the
sample by first eliminating the sediments
without removing the bacteria or viruses.
The target is a 1:1000 dilution.
Your
proposed system should:
- Be portable and battery powered *
- Be lightweight, i.e., weigh
less than 100 lbs
- Eliminate the sediment without
removing the bacteria or viruses
- Concentrate the bacteria/viruses
from 10 liters of pond water to 10 ml of
pond water
- Be accompanied by a validated
protocol for testing the concentration
efficiency of bacterial counts using
your system**
- Use a sterile process (using only
disposable or easy-to-autoclave
materials)
- Use different types of sterile
filters
- Use disposable materials or use
material that can be easily autoclaved
- Not be clogged easily when used to
handle 10 liters
- Be reasonably easy to use/maintain
- Be innovative
- Address safety considerations
- Be cost effective and include a
marketing strategy and outreach plan
* Emergency
medical professionals use a lightweight
portable suction unit
http://www.buyemp.com/product/1011504.html,
this unit could be used as a starting point
or source of reference.
** You can
use BioBall of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
ref 56017 from BioMerieux
http://www.biomerieux-industry.com/servlet/srt/bio/industry-microbiology/dynPage?doc=NDY_IND_BPA_PRD_G_PRD_NDY_1
.
Each team is advised to read the
Participation Guide for a comprehensive
understanding of the contest evaluation
criteria. Upon your registration, WERC will
provide you with a copy of the Public
Involvement Plan and Participation Guide.
Additionally, your proposed design will be
evaluated on issues identified in the
problem statement as well as others listed
here.
- Originality;
- Ease of use/maintainability;
- Reliability;
- Affordability;
- Innovation;
- Potential for real-life use and
implementation;
- Cost effective operation; and
- Functionality and operability.
At the design contest, each team will
demonstrate its system. The teams will
receive a 5 gallon
bucket of surface water that contains slime,
algae, and bacteria.
The bench scale construction should
accurately represent a reduced scale
simulation of the actual application of the
technology to the conceptual site model.
Should your team need
more water please send an e-mail indicating
the amount requested.
The written
report is the first presentation of your
team’s proposed solution. The report should
give the reader a full understanding of the
magnitude of your team’s involvement with
the problem details. The report will be
evaluated for clarity, logic, coherence, and
quality. Standards appropriate for
publications in technical journals apply.
In addition to the listed requirements,
the following must be discussed in your
written report:
- Selection process - describe in
detail including cost/benefit
consideration, evaluation criteria, and
screening protocol;
- Advantages, disadvantages, and
limitations of the selected tool and
other options considered;
- Possible sterilization methods;
- Recent references and sources of
information;
- Any safety issues or OSHA
considerations associated with use of
your design; and
- A marketing strategy and outreach
plan.
Contact:
Barbara Valdez, Program
Facilitator
(575) 646-7821
(800) 523-5996
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