Bio-monitoring tools for concentrating disease pathogens from wastewater, air, and surface samples

Safe, rapid. and accurate monitoring is essential to reduce and prevent the spread of illness. Wastewater-based epidemiology is a new, mainstream method for public health officials to track outbreaks.

InnovaPrep’s FluidPrep and AirPrep bio monitoring tools for in-field and in-lab sample concentration can improve detection of COVID-19 and other bacterial or viral diseases, including antibiotic-resistant organisms - faster, easier, and better.

Wastewater-Based Epidemiology

Public health labs are using wastewater as a means to detect the emergence and spread of pandemic outbreaks. These epidemiological  monitoring programs help effectively track infection rates for communities in advance of evidence from clinical tests.   

The Concentrating Pipette (CP) Select™ is recommended by both CDC-endorsed analysis platforms for the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS)

The National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) supported by the CDC and the Association of Public Health Labs (APHL) endorses only Qiagen and Bio-Rad analysis platforms; both recommend the CP Select in their protocols as a front-end concentration step.

The CP Select™ effectively concentrates pathogens of concern from raw and primary wastewater influent. Our process  simplifies workflow, reduces labor, and improves the limit of detection, The instrument fits into Bio-safety cabinets for increased ease and safety - perfect for mobile labs. Pairs perfectly with PCR and sequencing methods.

Our Advantage

Faster – Sample Concentration is automated taking only 5-10 minutes
Easier – The intuitive menu tells you what to do at every step. No special skill required.
Better – Concentrates larger volumes than other methods allow, thereby improving your limit of detection.
Safer –  Reduced sample handling. The Concentrating Pipette fits in a biosafety cabinet.

Performance evaluation of virus concentration methods for implementing sars-cov-2 wastewater based epidemiology emphasizing quick data turnaround

Juel et al. University of North Carolina, Charlotte

“The CP was shown to be more efficient, and much faster; making this the optimal choice for building surveillance applications where quick turnaround time is necessary.”

Wastewater surveillance demonstrates high predictive value for Covid-19 infection on board repatriation flights to Australia

Ahmed, et all. CSIRO Land and Water, Ecosciences

“This instrument [CP Select] was used because it provides a faster concentration step than most other methods, such as HA filters, centrifugation, and PEG and achieves relatively high recovery efficiency

Detection of the Omicron variant of sars-cov-2 in aircraft wastewater

Ahmed et al. CSIRO Land and Water, Ecosciences

“Analytical detection of Omicron in wastewater corroborated with a single onboard infection”

Evaluation of two rapid ultrafiltration based methods for sars-cov-2 concentration from wastewater

E. Forés et al. The Water Institute of the University of Barcelona, Spain

“CP-Select™ provided higher recovery rates for MS2.”

Testimonial

“As a customer focusing on WWBE, I would highlight the CP select for there producibility of the concentration step, the speed of sample concentration, and the overall safety of the operator. With research laboratories often being challenged to handle service-level loads, the CP-select enables quality and rapid turnaround of samples without exposing research staff to wastewater samples.” 

Cresten Mansfeldt, Assistant Professor, Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder

Testimonial

"Colorado State University has been processing wastewater samples collected from manholes on campus and from treatment plants around the state of Colorado since August2020. We have run thousands of samples through our InnovaPrep concentrator – up to 40 samples a day – generating valuable data which is posted to a public dashboard for the citizens of Colorado to see. The InnovaPrep was recommended to us by Hampton Roads Sanitation District, who were among the first to test wastewater for COVID19.  After reviewing other protocols which seemed lengthier and more laborious, we were delighted to have the InnovaPrep as an option. We have been extremely happy with our concentrator – it’s reliable, rapid and easy to use, requires little maintenance and allows us to safely perform all manipulations of wastewater inside a biosafety cabinet, minimizing exposure to pathogens.Even inexperienced lab staff are able to safely and reliably concentrate wastewater using this instrument as it has a very user-friendly interface which guides the user through each step. We also note that InnovaPrep is a reliable supplier – we have never experienced delays due to items being out of stock -and the technical support is outstanding.” 

Carol JWilusz Ph.D.Professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology & PathologyDirector, Program in Cell and Molecular Biology Director, MolecularQuantification CoreColorado State University

Disease Monitoring with Air Sampling

Routine indoor air monitoring in key locations of gathering such as schools, nursing homes, clinics, and offices provides an early warning of potential exposure to a transmittable infection and allows time to mitigate further infections when a group of individuals may have been exposed.

The AirPrep Sampler has shown the ability to collect and recover clinically relevant levels of aerosol coronavirus within a 30-minute sampling period for detection with PCR.

Active sample collection with AirPrep™

The AirPrep samplers are small, lightweight and portable dry filter samplers that actively collect viruses, bacteria, and molds at a high flowrate, up to 200 LPM. Sample recovery from the filter takes just seconds and results in a concentrated liquid sample that is ready for sample analysis using PCR or other molecular methods including sequencing.

Large-area surface sampling method using the CP Select

Monitoring large-area surfaces for the presence of pathogens can help to detect and curb outbreaks. A Surface Sampling Method developed by NASA shows how simple polyester wipes can be wetted in PBS and effectively used to collect samples from large-area surfaces. The resulting liquid sample is concentrated, without incubation, on the Concentrating Pipette into a final sample of about 200 µL ready for PCR  or sequencing methods.

This sampling and concentration method allows rapid results for detecting viruses, molds, and bacteria and is especially useful for detecting viable-but-not-culturable pathogens.

The outcomes of these NASA studies "could be translated and implemented in other cleanrooms requiring reduced counts of problematic resilient fungal populations, like intensive care units, operating rooms, or cleanrooms in the semiconducting and pharmaceutical industries."