(187e) Hyperspectral Signatures for Differentiating Live from Dead Endospores

Anthracis is a known BWMD (biological weapon of mass destruction) but there no current assays that can rapidly answer the question ?Is this endospore alive or dead?? Fluorescent dyes also have been developed for differentiating live from dead spores. Yet, these stains often yield a preponderance of bacterial endospores that appear as somewhere between alive and dead. We are investigating techniques to optically confirm spore viability. We are using remote-sensing techniques on a microscopic scale as a new, non-destructive approach to the intractable problem of differentiating live from dead endospores. Our approach is identifying unique spectral signatures as novel indicators for viability in a manner that has not been previously considered. Ultimately we are developing signature libraries that include a distribution or error term for members of both live and dead populations. Resulting new data could lead to rapid and portable capability for answering the fundamental ?live or dead? question.