Summary
The ability to detect pathogens, toxins, and biological/chemical threat agents is critical to supporting public health, and national security. However, such detection is limited by instrument sensitivity and portability, slow analysis methods, and the inability to detect unknown hazardous substances. For example, to protect public health after extreme weather events, toxins and harmful bacteria in waterways must be monitored over vast distances, yet water quality samples are typically collected in the field and brought to a laboratory for analysis using time-consuming methods and non-portable
