The research objective of this Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) collaborative project is to research a novel tool/device for rapid, sensitive, and simultaneous detection of major pathogenic bacteria in foods. The approach taken will be magnetic beads-linked immunoassays combined with micro coulter counting technique to achieve simultaneous detection of multiple pathogenic bacteria in foods with high specificity and sensitivity. A number of novel features across bio-, micro-, and sensing technologies are introduced to the proposed system. Specifically this proposal will develop a simple and practical sensor for detecting the most significant food-borne pathogens in the United States (eg. Salmonella, Campylobacter and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7) in chicken and ground beef. The project's method, once optimized, can potentially be applied for detecting a wide range of other targets such as viruses, toxins, and disease-related biomarkers.
If successful, the benefits of this research will include improved food and water safety, which will lead to efficient monitoring and implementation of homeland security, and enhanced public health. In addition, the proposed project offers a truly multidisciplinary training ground for the undergraduate and graduate students involved in the research. The multidisciplinary nature of the research lends itself to dissemination of information in technical as well as non-technical journals and through outreach activities. The award includes year-round undergraduate research projects, utilizing the NSF REU supplement program, UConn's School of Engineering's Da Vinci project (a project geared toward the integration of basic engineering concepts into the post-elementary school classroom), UConn's E2K program to enhance K-12 education, UMass-Lowell's Women in Sciences and Engineering program to uplift the involvement of female minority students, and activities in Homeschoolers Day.
800x600 The microbiological safety of foods is a major concern to consumers and to the food industry. Despite considerable progress made in technology, consumer education and regulations, food safety continues to be a major challenge to our public health and economy. It is estimated that each year there are 48 million episodes of domestically acquired foodborne illness in the USA, resulting in thousands of hospitalizations and fatalities. The economic burden in the US due to health losses associated with foodborne illness is estimated to be $77.7 billion. The risk of life loss and economic burden associated with such outbreaks can be greatly reduced through early public announcements, which demand rapid and accurate methods for detecting pathogens in food systems. Moreover, portable and affordable sensing platforms will also enable the on-site screening or testing to further reduce the risk. Currently, the available conventional detection methods are labor intensive and time-consuming for testing and pathogen identification. Therefore, many rapid methods such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), polymerase chain reactions (PCR)-based methods have been developed and extensively used. However, most of these rapid methodologies require sophisticated instruments for analysis, which are generally not mobile enough for on-site operations. In this project, we aim at developing intriguingly simple but potentially very powerful microfluidic-based biosensors which are suitable for fast detection of food-borne pathogens in the United States (e.g., E. coli). Several microfluidic-based direct-counting devices have been fabricated based on Coulter counting principle and amperometric counting principle. Their performance for micro-particles and E. coli counting is evaluated and discussed, which provides insights on the understanding of the design of microfluidics with integrated microelectrodes as well as the direction for the development of high-performance microfluidic sensing devices, thus paving the roads for future development of miniaturized counting devices. In addition, an integrated device (Figure 1) including filter, particle separator, dielectrophoresis capture, and detecting microelectrodes has been designed and fabricated, which could provide an excellent sensing platform for broad applications. This project not only generates new knowledge and products, but also attracts and trains a new generation of scientists and engineers. It has positive impacts on education of the graduate, undergraduate and high school students by integrating advanced biosensing into their educational and laboratory training, thus attracting more students interested in STEM. The microfluidic sensing concept developed in this project has also been used as the topic for UConn SoE Open House, YESS program, and teaching materials in undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Connecticut. In addition, this project generates a broad impact on society by making general public and industry companies aware of the food safety as well as corresponding sensing technologies tthrough a range of outreach activities (e.g., Industry Connection, E2K program), publication in high-profile peer-reviewed journals, and various presentations in national conferences.
