Portable and multi-target DNA/RNA diagnostics requires a rapid, field-usable, simple to operate, regenerable and economical biosensor system. The nanomembrane technology presented here is based upon the integration of newly discovered electrokinetic phenomena in nanoporous membranes that promise to extend traditional label-free electrochemical and capacitance/conductance biosensors to the requisite robustness, sensitivity, selectivity and assay speed for on-field nucleic acid detection. The proposed work will optimize and integrate these new physical phenomena into an automated membrane sensing platform for hand-held DNA/RNA devices suitable for field applications by scientifically scrutinizing the detailed non-equilibrium electrokinetic phenomena and by exploiting the latest nano/microfabrication technologies. The proposed work will heavily involve development of miniature prototypes that can have a significant impact on biological research and, more commercially, the biotechnology industry sector.
A viable portable and label-free DNA/RNA detection platform for bacterial detection has the potential to spur a technological advance in the biosensor industry, as it could transform pathogen detection methodology for medical, environmental, and agricultural applications by eliminating the time-consuming nucleic acid amplification step and the costly/bulky/personnel-intensive optical detectors of fluorescent sensing. The project can hence impact both nanoscience and nano biotechnology. The flexibility of the platform to test various pathogenic targets related to health and environmental safety could vastly increase the target portfolio and widen the impact of the technology.
Foodborne diseases are one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and have significant economic consequences with financial losses accounting to billions of dollars to food industry. Over the past decade, the noticeable increase in foodborne illnesses due to the bacterial contamination of foods have been reported with increasing illnesses resulting from consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables and meat products. Recent CDC data indicate that there are about 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths occur annually in the US due to foodborne infections. According to CDC records, 10 outbreaks related to food have already been reported in 2013 including salmonella contamination in ground beef, chicken, cucumbers and tahini sauce, e.coli contamination in frozen food, hepatitis contamination in pomegranate seeds, listeria monocytogenes contamination in cheese and most recently a new Cyclospora contamination in salad mix. We are developing a new platform technology capable of identifying these different foodborne pathogens. Our goal through the proposed project was perform a thorough market study to determine the current standards that the customer uses and how the testing is performed in the area of pathogen diagnostics. Through this grant, we were able to interview the food safety market to realize where the need for new tool in detection of foodborne bacteria. The goal is not to create a fancy technology and try to commercialize it; instead, it is to talk to the potential customers about their needs and then design a technology to meet those needs. We applied the basic principles of customer discovery and business model canvas to test our technology. We interviewed 84 people in the food processing industry including managers at food processing plants, independent butchers and food testing laboratories. We were able to identify the customer pain/need: 1) a faster test to avoid storage of meat while waiting for test results and 2) a test cheaper than the current tests. Through our interviews we realized that while we can provide a cheaper test, the logistics of testing and our technology would not address the problem of decreasing the test time. Hence, we believe that at the current stage, the technology is not ready for commercialization in the food safety market. However, we see these results as encouraging from an entrepreneurial view because we identified the customer pains accurately and early in the technology transfer process. Additionally, the team will explore other markets like medical diagnostics and water safety as the matrices in these markets are fewer and hence easily penetrable. Other outcomes as a result of this award include: - Learning of a new scientific tool (business model canvas) to add to the repertoire of the knowledge of all the personnel involved in the project. - Development of a first-generation prototype for a new pathogen diagnostics platform. - Tackling of a significant foodborne disease problem having a broad impact on human health across the nation and the world. - The team was also involved in mentoring two Master's students (of underrepresented minorities) in an Entrepreneurship Program developing a business plan around the technology. The Master's students accompanied the team on customer discovery to engage early on in the process of customer discovery. - Through the learning from this grant, the team is currently teaching a course on customer discovery, business model canvas and design thinking to aspiring entrepreneurs in a Master’s program. More information about the outcomes of the project can be found in the following links: http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/news/39155-notre-dame-engineers-complete-nsf-i-corps-award-training-in-technology-commerialization/ http://youtu.be/2vkzUNX7y3M
