E. coli bacteria are among the most prevalent pathogens that exist widely in the environment and can spread quickly and easily through water or food at an appropriate temperature. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recommended the use of E. coli in fresh water as an indicator organism. Therefore, water quality monitoring for infectious organisms is a core requirement for managing such a key natural resource and requires accurate and accessible detection technologies to ensure continuous quality control and early warning capabilities for users to minimize negative impacts. There are several methods used for bacteria detection, e.g., culture and colony counting method, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and electrochemical methods. However, none of the existing methods is suitable for large-scale, real-time, in-situ detection of E. coli. Therefore, a fast, sensitive, selective, and cost-effective method or sensing platform is urgently needed for E. coli bacteria detection for continuous water quality monitoring.
This team proposes to develop a graphene-gold nanoparticle-based Escherichia coli (E. coli) test kit for rapid detection of E. coli bacteria in water. This novel nanomaterial-based sensor has superior performance over the conventional E. coli detection methods, e.g., spectroscopic and electrochemical methods, which are unsuitable for large-scale, real-time, in-situ detection. In the proposed project, the team will refine the handheld meter and the test strip, validate the test kit with real water samples in collaboration with authoritative water technology validation agents (e.g. Milwaukee Water Works or MWW and Battelle), and develop a prototype handheld meter for proof-of concept demonstration. In addition, the team will work with key strategic partners for the sensor product development and commercialization.
