Principles Of Bacterial Detection: Biosensors, Recognition Receptors And Microsystems

Principles of Bacterial Detection: Biosensors, Recognition Receptors and Microsystems Principles of Bacterial Detection: Biosensors, Recognition Receptors and Microsystems Edited by MOHAMMED ZOUROB Biophage Pharma Inc. Montreal, Canada SOUNA ELWARY Consultant to Biophage Pharma Inc. Montreal, Canada ANTHONY TURNER Cranfield University Bedfordshire, UK 13 Editors Mohammed Zourob Biophage Pharma Inc. Montreal Canada [email protected] Souna Elwary Consultant to Biophage Pharma Inc. Montreal Canada [email protected] Anthony Turner Cranfield University Bedfordshire UK [email protected] ISBN: 978-0-387-75112-2 e-ISBN: 978-0-387-75113-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2007941938 © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com Preface Bacterial contamination of food and water resources, as well as the increasing incidence of nosocomial infections, has us on our toes, looking for ways of recognizing these elements. In addition, the recent and growing threats to personal and territorial securities make this task even more urgent. Therefore, accurate assessment of the state of current technologies is a prerequisite for undertaking any course of action towards future improvements. In particular, development of new detection and identification technologies for the plethora of bacterial agents has become increasingly important to scientists and to regulatory agencies. In recent years, there has been much progress in the field of bacterial agents detection, resulting in the development of more accurate, fast, analyte-specific, robust, and cost effective techniques by incorporating emerging technologies from various disciplines. Principles of Bacterial Detection: Biosensors, Recognition Receptors and Microsystems presents a significant and up-to-date review of various integrated approaches for bacterial detection by distinguished engineers and scientists. This work is a comprehensive approach to bacterial detection, presenting a thorough knowledge of the subject and an effective integration of disciplines in order to appropriately convey the state-of the-art fundamentals and applications of the most innovative approaches