In the United States, 24-81 million people are infected with foodborne bacteria and 9,000 people die each year from such infections. Outbreaks of E. coli 0157:H7 have brought attention to the problem of contaminated foods, resulting in several new regulations. To ensure safe food supplies, rapid, new methods of detecting foodborne pathogenic bacteria are needed. PCR amplification of nucleic acids has been used to detect numerous bacterial specifies and is rapid and extremely sensitive. Modifications of PCR exist which permit simultaneous detection of several bacterial species. Using one such modification, multiplex PCR, nucleic acids from several bacterial species (e.g., Salmonella enteritidis, S. typhimurium, E. coli) can be amplified in a single reaction. One problem with multiplex PCR is the lack of rapid methods for detecting the various DNA products. This proposal aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a biosensor for rapid, one-step identification of all products produced by multiplex PCR. The process is amenable to full automation. This proprietary biosensor will open the door to rapid, simultaneous detection of multiple bacterial species.
PCR technology has wide spread applications in clinical, environmental, agrifood and other industrial areas. Multiplex PCR technologies permit simultaneous amplification of multiple nucleic acids and would be commercially valuable if rapid methods for identifying the multiple products existed.
