Nucleotide Probes for Rapid Toxinogenic Cyanobacteria Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting toxinogenic cyanobacteria are time-consuming, require expertise, and are not adapted to the variability of environmental waters, leading to uncertainty in detection and ineffective monitoring of water quality and ecosystem health.
Innovation Solution
The use of specific nucleotide probes targeting ribosomal nucleic acids of active living toxinogenic cyanobacteria, enabling rapid detection and quantification in less than one hour with a detection threshold as low as 0.02 ng of ribosomal RNA, corresponding to 10 to 575 active living cells per milliliter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If microscopic analysis is used for detection, then identification accuracy can be achieved, but the detection process becomes time-consuming and requires expert knowledge
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/visual microscopic analysis system with a molecular biology-based detection system using nucleotide probes and PCR amplification. This substitution eliminates the need for expert visual identification while achieving higher sensitivity through specific nucleic acid targeting, resolving the contradiction between accuracy and time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pre-designed specific nucleotide probes that target toxinogenic cyanobacteria DNA sequences before detection is needed. The probes are prepared in advance with known sequences, allowing rapid amplification and detection without requiring real-time expert analysis, thus reducing detection time while maintaining high accuracy.
2Productivity
If generalist monitoring tools are used, then continuous monitoring capability is provided, but sensitivity to specific toxinogenic cyanobacteria is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing probes with sequences specifically tailored to target toxinogenic cyanobacteria species. Rather than using generalist tools that monitor all phytoplankton equally, the probes focus detection sensitivity on specific toxic species through localized sequence matching, achieving both continuous monitoring and high specificity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the detection parameter from general physico-chemical measurements to specific nucleic acid sequence detection. By using PCR amplification and hybridization with species-specific probes, the system transforms the monitoring approach to detect trace amounts of toxinogenic cyanobacteria DNA, dramatically improving detection sensitivity while maintaining productivity.
3Reliability
If detection thresholds are set high according to WHO recommendations, then false positives are reduced, but early warning capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary amplification of target DNA sequences using PCR before detection. This preliminary action concentrates trace amounts of cyanobacteria DNA to detectable levels, enabling early warning at very low cell concentrations (below WHO thresholds) while maintaining reliability through specific probe-based detection that minimizes false positives.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct cell counting methods with molecular detection of DNA sequences. This substitution enables detection at much lower concentrations than visual or flow cytometry methods, providing early warning capability while maintaining high reliability through sequence-specific hybridization that distinguishes toxinogenic species from non-toxic counterparts.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides reliable, sensitive, and rapid tools for detecting toxinogenic cyanobacteria, allowing early warning of water contamination and enabling effective monitoring of aquatic environments.
Implementation Method 1
The sandwich hybridization technique (SHA) is known and consists in the detection of a nucleic acid of a species to be detected thanks to the use of both a capture probe immobilized on a solid support and a signal probe, both of which are specific to the nucleic acid of the species to be detected
Data Source
AI summary
Probes for the detection of toxinogenic cyanobacteria, and the use of at least one pair of these probes in a method for the detection of the toxinogenic cyanobacteria in a sample likely to contain the toxinogenic cyanobacteria. Also, corresponding kits including at least one pair probes specific to toxinogenic cyanobacteria.