Assays for microbial contamination and DNA analysis based on electrorotation.

A new assay is described for determining the concentration and viability of waterborne micro-organisms. The method exploits the fact that when a latex bead coated with a specific binding agent is complexed to the target analyte, the analyte complex formed assumes new dielectric properties that can be monitored by its electrorotation response. This generic technology is applicable to a wide range of organism and toxicological diagnostic tests, as well as to other areas of biotechnology. An example is given of its possible application to DNA sequence analysis.