The capabilities of the portable, automated fiber optic biosensor, RAPTOR,
have recently been evaluated. Developed to perform rapid fluoroimmunoassays
in the field, the RAPTOR was designed to test samples for up to four diffe
rent target analytes simultaneously. Assay time could be varied from a 3-mi
n rapid screen to a standard 10-min test. A trial of 203 blind samples test
ed for Staphylococcal enterotoxin B, ricin, Francisella tularensis, and Bac
illus globigii has been conducted. Sensitivities obtained were 10, 50 ng/ml
, 5 x 10(5), and 5 x 10(4) cfu/ml, respectively. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science
S.A. All rights reserved.