ASTM International Standard Specification for Nucleic Acid-Based Systems for Bacterial Pathogen Screening of Suspicious Visible Powders ASTM E3131-17(2024)

This specification prescribes a statistically based testing approach for evaluating the performance of nucleic acid-based detection systems used in bacterial pathogen screening of suspicious visible powders. Nucleic acid-based detection systems are used to detect, identify, or quantify, or combinations thereof, biological hazards to support short-term tactical decision making to protect responders and the public. The system is intended to provide low false-positive and false-negative rates. Uses of these systems include survey, surveillance, and screening of samples, particularly during a response to a suspected biological agent incident.