Biocan Tell Me Fast is an immunochromatographic assay used for qualitative detection of Clostridium Botulinum. This test is intended for the preliminary detection of Clostridium Botulinum in milk and water samples.

Clostridium botulinum is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming, motile bacterium with the ability to produce the neurotoxin botulinum. The botulinum toxin can cause a severe flaccid paralytic disease in humans and other animals and is the most potent toxin known to humankind, natural or synthetic, with a lethal dose of 1.3–2.1ng/kg in humans. C. Botulinum is a diverse group of pathogenic bacteria initially grouped together by their ability to produce botulinum toxin and now known as four distinct groups, C. botulinum groups I-IV. C. Botulinum groups I-IV, as well as some strains of Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium baratii, are the bacteria responsible for producing botulinum toxin. C. Botulinum is responsible for foodborne botulism (ingestion of preformed toxin), infant botulism (intestinal infection with toxin-forming C. botulinum), and wound botulism (infection of a wound with C. botulinum). C. Botulinum produces heat-resistant endospores that are commonly found in soil and are able to survive under adverse conditions.

Biocan Tell Me fast Clostridium botulinum is a rapid immunoassay in lateral flow test device format. It detects the presence of Clostridium botulinum organism directly from the enrichment medium sample. The Clostridium botulinum rapid test is performed on test strips consisting of sample pad, conjugate pad containing dried detection reagent, nitrocellulose membrane lined with test and Procedural control lines, and absorbent pad. The sample is applied to sample pad and flows through test strip by capillary action. As the sample moves through the conjugate pad, it solubilize the detection reagent consisting of nano-gold particles coated with anti- Clostridium botulinum antibodies. If the Clostridium botulinum organism is present in the sample, a complex of the microorganism and nano-gold particles will form and be captured by anti- Clostridium botulinum antibodies present in the Test line, as the complex flows through nitrocellulose membrane. The visible colored test line indicates accumulation of this complex in positive samples, while negative samples are indicated by clearly visible control line. Each strip has Procedural control line to control for reagent stability and functionality. A clearly visible Procedural control line indicates that the reagents have flowed normally through the test strip.