SBIR Phase I: Sensory System for Autonomous Area-Wide Disease and Agriterror Detection and Reporting

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段研究项目将展示一种新的MEMS(微电子机械系统)技术的可行性，即生物分子友好型导电聚合物的电化学聚合，以构建功能生物受体。这项研究将解决抗体功能化导电纳米线制造中的关键技术挑战，这些纳米线可单独寻址并可扩展到高密度生物传感器阵列。概念验证将对纳米线的应用进行演示和表征，以实现对水基溶液(例如昆虫血淋巴和洗涤剂)中多种病原体的无标签、实时、快速、敏感和成本效益的检测。由此产生的纳米感官阵列将为开发小型、有效、廉价、自主和自动化的病原体检测设备奠定基础，这些设备具有现场价值。这些单位将允许无人值守地处理大量田间样本，从而提高病原体和农业错误检测的能力，即使在偏远的农村地区也是如此。这可能是一个颠覆性的概念和技术，因为目前用于检测和诊断病原体的大多数仪器速度慢、价格高、体积大、需要人工干预，并且不适合无人值守的自主操作，因此只有很小一部分引入的病原体在引起广泛疾病或流行病之前被实际检测到。如果成功，该项目成果的一个影响可能是提高检测植物病原体和病原体的效率，从而采取预防性而不是危机或补救控制行动。及早发现是公开疫情的唯一形式，这一系统将提供这种能力。到目前为止，农业病虫害管理技术缺乏提高作物产量所需的数据收集技术。农民目前依赖耗时的人工有害生物管理方法，这些方法往往来得太晚，无法防止有害生物的侵扰。目前的方法需要在整个农场进行昂贵的地毯式喷洒杀虫剂，这是低效的、对生态有害的，并有助于发展杀虫剂抗药性。在疾病的情况下，检测的延迟可能会迫使整个田地和果园被犁，农场或地区被隔离。这一自动化系统的发展将对农业以外的领域产生影响，例如及早发现和警报生物恐怖主义制剂的存在以及监测和控制病媒。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will demonstrate the feasibility of a novel MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) technique of electrochemical polymerization of biomolecule-friendly conducting polymers to build functional bioreceptors. This research will address key technical challenges in the fabrication of antibody-functionalized conducting nanowires that are individually addressable and scalable to high-density biosensor arrays. The proof-of-concept will be on the demonstration and characterization of the nanowire application for label-free, real-time, rapid, sensitive and cost-effective detection of multiple pathogens in water based solutions (e.g. insect hemolymph and washes). The resultant nano-sensory-arrays will form the base for the development of small, effective, inexpensive, autonomous and automated pathogen detection devices that are field worthy. These units will permit the unattended processing of large number of field samples, thus increasing the capacity of pathogen and agriterror detection, even in isolated rural areas. This may be a disruptive concept and technology because the majority of instruments currently used to detect and diagnose pathogens are slow, expensive, bulky, require human interference, and are not amenable to unattended autonomous operation, thus only a very small portion of introduced pathogens is actually detected before they cause widespread disease or epidemics. IF successful one impact of the outcome of this project could be the increased efficiency in detection of plant pathogens and agents of disease, allowing for preventative rather than crisis or remedial control actions. Early detection is the only form to overt epidemics, and this system will provide such capability. To date, agricultural pest management techniques lack the data collection technologies needed to improve crop yields. Farmers currently rely on time-consuming, manual pest management methods that often come too late to prevent pest infestations. Present methods entail costly blanket spraying of insecticides on entire farms, which is inefficient, ecologically harmful and conducive to the development of pesticide resistance. In the case of diseases, delays in detection can force entire fields and orchards to be plowed and the farm or the region put under quarantine. The development of this automated system will have repercussions in areas beyond agriculture, such as in early detection and alarm of presence of bio-terrorism agents and monitoring and control of vectors of disease.