Biological Material Passive Sampler (3D-printable)

Novel technology for applications employing eDNA

Overview

　Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling and analysis, used to monitor the presence and marine biodiversity (species composition), is widely applied by marine ecologists, government environmental agencies, fisheries and aquaculture, and deep-sea research expeditions. Conventional active eDNA sampling requires transporting water collected on site to the lab for filtration with electric powered vacuum pumps, or peristaltic filtration in situ, leading respectively to DNA degradation and ecosystem disturbance. In contrast, these two Biological Material Samplers passively collect material (eDNA, eRNA, microbes) from the water column or the benthos, respectively. They are simple to assemble, deploy, and retrieve, for both shallow coastal and deep-sea surveys down to 6000m depth. In field trials at a fishing port in Miyagi Prefecture, eDNA collected with these devices was used to validate the presence/absence of four octopus fishery target species across different seasons during a 2-year study, demonstrating the device‘s potential to transform marine biomonitoring efforts.

Features・Outstandings

Product Application

・Fisheries target species seasonal biogeographic monitoring
・Aquaculture: early detection of pathogens & invasive species
・Ecological assessment in the event of disasters

IP Data

IP No.　 ： JP 2026-040974 　
Inventor ： Cheryl L. Ames, Matthijs Ledder
keyword ： Environmental DNA, eDNA, Passive eDNA, Fisheries Resource Management, Aquaculture, Marine Monitoring, Octopus, Biodiversity Survey, Biosensing