The InterAct partners offer technical expertise and support for disinfectant and antiseptic formulators, manufacturers and distributors. Their unique range of testing expertise covers a range of applications where disinfectants are used, including: Healthcare, hospitals and homes; Food preparation and kitchens; Aquaculture and water; Farms and animal facilities; Laboratories. These disinfection services range from standard testing to more bespoke services and can support the evaluation of:

• Extensive Efficacy Testing: against Bacteria, Fungi and Viruses.

• Dilution Range Finding: the lowest concentration for maximum effectiveness

• Disinfectant and antiseptic activity in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas

REACH and Chemical Risk Assessment

The InterAct partners together offer a complete expert service to provide evidence for REACH compliance. They also offer a range of other chemical risk assessment solutions that are underpinned by sound science and regulatory understanding.

Proficiency Testing Services

Three of the InterAct partners offer comprehensive proficiency testing (PT) services across food and water microbiology, GMO analysis, food/water/effluent chemistry, parasitology, veterinary laboratory diagnosis, public health and equipment monitoring. This project is aimed at leveraging the marketing resources of the three PT teams in order to maximise their income potentials.

Cefas GPS-A GPS and Accelerometer Data Storage Tag

The Cefas GPS-A is a new product that includes a a GPS locator and a 3 axis accelerometer (±2g or ±8g) in addition to the usual pressure and temperature sensors. This tag also has a larger battery to support the logging of data at up to 30Hz, which offers a combination of longer life and larger memory capacity. The tag is capable of taking up to 40 million readings from its sensors over the life of the battery.

A key feature of the GPS-A is its independent sensor settings, which allow the data logging profile to be configured by the user.

Cefas G6A Accelerometer Data Storage Tag

The Cefas G6A is a new product that includes a 3 axis accelerometer (±2g or ±8g) in addition to the usual pressure and temperature sensors. This tag also has a larger battery to support the logging of data at up to 30Hz, which offers a combination of longer life and larger memory capacity. The tag is capable of taking up to 40 million readings from its sensors over the life of the battery.
A key feature of the G6A is its independent sensor settings, which allow the data logging profile to be configured by the user.

Electronic capture of data in the field

Fisheries research, assessment and management rely heavily on basic information from population, landings and catch sampling. This sampling is both labour intensive, and, in common with most data collection exercises, can be vulnerable to human error.

Cefas has been using an Electronic Data Capture (EDC) system to record its research vessel fisheries data for the last 15 years. The system is now being re-developed to expand it's capability to include on-board catch and discard sampling and a variety of field sampling activities. The system could be useful if a range of situations which require a ruggedised data capture device with a simple interface.

Cefas Water Sampler

The Cefas Water Sampler has a compact design, due to its original design for use with a continuous plankton recorder. Having been successfully deployed within Cefas, and further enhanced it now offers the capability for remote control sampling through an Iridium satellite interface, allowing the user to activate sampling from their desk via PC software anywhere around the world. This provides a feature that could be appealing to any user needing to sample a remote environment without the need for regular on-site attendance. In this configuration the water sampler can be used to capture water contaminants.

Cefas Mooring Locator

The Cefas Mooring Locator has arisen out of the necessity to monitor and track the movement of increasingly expensive scientific instruments in remote and harsh environments.

The mooring locator operates using GPS technology to determine its position anywhere around the globe and detect if it moves out of a user specified perimeter. It sends a daily email to confirm it is still on-position, and further more frequent emails if it should move out of position. 2-way communication using the Iridium satellite network allows the user to adjust the unit’s settings remotely from their desk via an email.

Disease challenge models

The HPA has well established challenge models for TB, and for H5N1 and H1N1 strains of influenza. Together with their translational research support, these allow the HPA to support both drug and vaccine product pipelines at all stages from discovery through development and evaluation to final production support.

Vaccine research at the HPA

The development of effective new vaccines is dependent upon the body being able to generate immune responses to the components of the vaccine that will confer protection against the infectious agents. The quantitative and qualitative measurement of such responses is part of a comprehensive package of services that the HPA is able to offer to government, academia and industry.

They offer a wide range of services from the development of assays right through to work to support vaccine clinical trials.

Contract research at the HPA

The HPA's microbiological research and testing facilities, backed by over 50 years of experience has led to international recognition, particularly for their expertise in working safely with organisms that require biological containment.

Programme areas include:
• The development and testing of new vaccines
• Exploitation of the natural pharmacological properties of molecules to generate novel medicines
• Prion pathogens (BSE & CJD)
• Biosafety and biodefence research & testing
• Evaluation of diagnostic kits
• External Quality Assessment services
• Molecular identification and bioinformation services

Ultrasensitive detection using thermostable adenylate kinase (tAK)

Thermostable adenylate kinases (tAKs) provide flexible solutions to a range of ultrasensitive detection challenges when coupled to bioluminescent assay reagents. Specific applications have been developed and licensed for cleaning and decontamination monitoring applications using direct inactivation of the enzymes to follow decontamination efficacy. The HPA are looking to co-develop and license further applications of the enzyme technology in point-of-care diagnostics, homogeneous assays and process monitoring.

Molecular based diagnostic assays

The HPA have a number of diagnostic assays for infectious diseases using molecular techniques. These have been extensively validated, and in some cases also have patent protection. The diseases include:
* Mycoplasma genitalium
* TB resistance array
* Detection of nucleic acid mutations
* Human papilloma virus
* Single DNA molecule detection of TB
* Salmonella enterica
* Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
* Group B Streptococci
* Staphylococcus aureus virulence gene typing
* Escherichia coli virulence gene typing
* Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence gene typing
* Staphylococcus aureus AFLP typing
* Human Papilloma Virus typing
* Legionella pneumophila
* Campylobacter jejuni and coli speciation

Robotic Serum Extractor

This novel automated serum extractor replaces the requirement to manually remove the clot from blood samples or to remove the rubber bung prior to screening serum in high throughput immunoassays. It also combines this with automated serum extraction from Vacutainers® or similar evacuated blood collection tubes into 96‐well microtitre plates, thereby automating in one step a process that laboratories presently carry out in three separate manual steps.

Novel Rapid Disease Detection using TR-FRET

Researchers at AHVLA have developed disease diagnostic assays using TR-FRET. These assays offer:
a rapid homogenous format for serology assays with no coating or washing steps; sensitivity and selectivity similar to competitive ELISA; reagent costs similar to competitive ELISA but with significant savings in overall cost through reduced labour costs.

This platform technology can be applied to detection of a range of infectious diseases of humans and animals.

Novel Brucellosis Vaccines

AHVLA and Dstl are evaluating and developing a series of novel brucellosis vaccines in combination and as single candidates against strains of brucella which are relevant to animal health and biowarfare.

Microemulsion for Decontamination

Dstl has developed a concentrated formulation that is highly effective in solubilizing chem/bio (C/B) agents – even thickened compositions. When used with either a peracid for HD and biological agents or an alkaline peroxide for nerve agents, the formulation (76% water, 19% liquid concentrate, 5% active chemical powder) has demonstrated the capability to decontaminate C/B agents on surfaces to NATO’s “Thorough” standard.

Sample Collectors for Airborne Threats

Airborne biological threats pose a real and serious concern for both Departments of Defence and the Homeland Security markets. Threats range from anthrax spores to biological toxins. Current methods to detect their presence are all liquid based (e.g. PCR, immunoassays). Potential threat agents need to be efficiently extracted from the airborne state for onward liquid-based analysis, a potential threat detected by a “trigger” can then be assessed.

Super Bainite (High Hardness) Steel

Super Bainite steel is a high performance armour steel, following live fire trials it has been demonstrated to have a hardness matching that of alternative high hardness armour steels, and some ceramic armours, at a much reduced cost.

Real Battle data for War Games

The MoD/Dstl have a wealth of operational and historical battlefield analysis and data gathered from every encounter over many decades. This data, now available under licence, has the potential to enhance the credibility and therefore the experience for war gamers and present a significant market advantage.

Chemiluminescence Explosives Detection

There is an ongoing requirement to provide enhanced levels of explosives detection capability against a range of common explosives for both military and homeland security applications. This requires the development of new trace detection techniques with increased levels of sensitivity and specificity that are capable of being adapted into simple and robust handheld/desktop instruments.

Compact Ultra Wideband (UWB) Antenna

Operations across greater radio frequency spectrums are ever increasing, whether for civil or defence communications. The use of multiple antennas can be reduced to a single unit with the compact, conformal, lightweight and robust UWB antenna.

GNSS Multiplex Binary Offset Carrier (MBOC)

Significant improvements to the accuracy of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) can be achieved by advances in the modulation techniques of the satellites transmitted baseline signal. The benefit is higher positional accuracy for Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

SafeBait - A novel rodenticide

The £200m rodenticide manufacturing market is dominated by products based upon anticoagulants. However, due to issues of concern regarding humaneness, toxicity (resistance) and safety there is increasing pressure upon the industry to develop new products. SafeBait uses a recombinant protein that is toxic to rodents with no apparent activity towards other mammals.

Anionic exchange membrane

There is an ongoing requirement to provide advanced power sources for military applications. This includes the development of alkaline fuel cells incorporating novel anionic exchange membranes whose high performance has application beyond fuel cells into fields such as water treatment and chemical processing.

Early detection of sepsis

Post-operative or post-traumatic sepsis remains one of the leading causes of disease and death in hospital populations. Early diagnosis is essential to avoid a high (~30%) death rate. Dstl has identified a panel of real time PCR biomarkers that can discriminate between patients with sepsis, with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), or with neither condition, days before clinical symptoms are seen.

Continuous monitoring for bioaerosols

An instrument that can deliver reagent-free, real-time, continuous monitoring of bio-aerosols. This could be used for monitoring of bio-aerosol loads at composting sites, detecting indoor mould spores, environmental research, pharmaceutical clean rooms, or as a "trigger" in defence and homeland security markets.

Sample collection and identification using multiple LFD strips

Using this simple device, a surface can be swabbed and the sample run on up to 6 different lateral flow devices to detect a range of materials from explosives to bacterial contamination. The sample is retained in the device for subsequent analysis, or as forensic evidence. The device itself is robust, easy to use, and can be operated whilst wearing protective clothing.

Formaldehyde-free toxoids

Dstl have developed a method to treat a toxin to produce a toxoid for use in vaccines that does not involve the use of formaldehyde. These toxoids are more stable, quicker to produce and avoid the toxicity associated with formaldehyde.

Protein expression

This novel peptide tag allows recombinant proteins to be easily immobilised onto a surface, and also improves their expression and production.

Personal care products - protection of light-sensitive active ingredients

This delivery technology protects active ingredients from UV light by enclosing the actives in personal care formulations within a liposome formulation.

Enhanced cancer vaccines

This is a method to encapsulate cancer vaccines with immunostimulatory molecules. This stimulates a specific immune response which enhances the activity of the vaccine.

Single dose mucosal vaccines

This new method of encapsulating biological molecules allows their use as effective mucosal vaccines in just a single dose. The vaccines are delivered to the mucosal surfaces in a way that stimulates the immune response required for a protective effect, and can be combined with immunostimulatory substances for an enhanced response.

Controlled release from microcapsules

Researchers at Fera have developed a microcapsulation technology which can incorporate a number of different particles within the capsule wall, altering permeability. This allows the microcapsule to release its encapsulated active ingredient in a controlled manner. The technology was primarily developed for agrochemical actives, but could be used for cosmetics, veterinary and pharmaceutical formulations.

UV-protective microcapsule

This microencapsulation technology incorporates a dye to protect the encapsulated active ingredient from UV degradation and allows for visual monitoring of formulation application or for visual detection once applied. The technology was primarily developed for the agriculture industry, but could have uses in other ‘surface applications’ such as the skin of humans or animals.

Traceability and counterfeit detection

Fera has developed a method which allows a product to be checked against its specification at any point in the supply chain for compliance, tracking and detection of counterfeit products. The system could be used with pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, drinks and other high value products.

2-minute extraction

Fera has developed a simple, rapid and cheap lateral flow device (LFD) extraction technique which has been used to extract DNA/RNA from a wide range of different matrices across a number of different targets. The utility of the device has been validated by Fera, AHVLA and HPA in a range of different situations.