Bacillus spore inactivation methods affect detection assays

Detection of biological weapons is a primary concern in force protection, t reaty verification, and safeguarding civilian populations against domestic terrorism. One great concern is the detection of Bacillus anthracis, the ca usative agent of anthrax. Assays for detection in the laboratory often empl oy inactivated preparations of spores or nonpathogenic simulants. This stud y uses several common biodetection platforms to detect B. anthracis spores that have been inactivated by two methods and compares those data to detect ion of spores that have not been inactivated. The data demonstrate that ina ctivation methods can affect the sensitivity of nucleic acid- and antibody- based assays for the detection of B. anthracis spores. These effects should be taken into consideration when comparing laboratory results to data coll ected and assayed during field deployment.