Floating films capture pathogens

A US researcher is working on a project to develop floating films that collect and concentrate pathogens at the surface of water.

The films could facilitate the collection of water samples for analysis, for example, and provide early warning of harmful biological contamination in rivers, lakes and reservoirs – once they have been developed beyond the research stage.

Even though low concentrations of harmful microbes and toxins are difficult to detect in large bodies of water, Elaine Mullen, a biological researcher at MITRE's Center for Integrated Intelligence Systems - where the research is underway - thinks that the new films can do the trick.

The films themselves are made from oils and glycoproteins found in plant and animal tissue. Wave action breaks the film into tiny globules or micelles. The outer surface of the micelle contains glycoproteins that contact waterborne pathogens.

Mullen explained that, on a molecular level, the glycoprotein is a protein with an attached carbohydrate that resembles a tree branch composed of branching sugar units.