SBIR Phase I: Rapid detection of phages in microbial fermentation using a novel photonic platform

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是降低成本和生产力的损失，由于噬菌体（噬菌体）污染发酵的乳制品和其他产品。 噬菌体污染是食品和制药工业中发酵过程失败的主要原因。由于原料（牛奶）和必要的微生物培养物供应商的多样性，食品发酵过程中，特别是乳制品行业中，噬菌体污染的风险显著增加。目前和新兴的分析技术不能快速检测食品材料如牛奶中的残留物。因此，污染的风险和缺乏快速检测方法的组合导致乳制品行业的重大经济损失。 噬菌体污染的早期检测将允许在发酵过程中的早期干预，这将导致显著的成本节约。 此外，该测试还可以扩展到其他食品领域、制药生产和生化生产。SBIR项目通过一种新型的光子平台技术，解决了发酵过程中快速检测噬菌体污染的需求。具体来说，将开发一个平台，用于检测奶酪制作过程中的噬菌体。 该平台结合了纳米光子学、微流体学和电泳，并基于加州大学戴维斯分校的发现。该系统的重点是操纵带电的电泳，并在细菌中加速扩增。 此外，该系统使用电泳捕获到纳米光子晶体中，以实现对目标荧光素的高灵敏度检测。该平台的显著特征是：a）高通量、快速捕获噬菌体; B）用于定量噬菌体浓度的高灵敏度和大动态范围;以及c）可以以低成本生产的可扩展设计。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to reduce cost and loss of productivity due to bacteriophage (phage) contamination in fermentation of dairy and other products. Bacteriophage contamination is the leading cause of failure in fermentation processes used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. The risk of phage contamination in food fermentation processes, particularly in the dairy industry, is significantly enhanced due to a large diversity of suppliers of both the raw ingredient (milk) and the necessary microbial cultures. The current and emerging analytical technologies cannot rapidly detect phages in food materials such as milk. Thus, the combination of the risk of contamination, and the lack of rapid detection methods, results in a significant economic loss for the dairy industry. Early detection of phage contamination will permit early intervention in the fermentation process, which will lead to significant cost savings. In addition, the test could be extended to other food areas, pharmaceutical production, and biochemical production.The SBIR project addresses the need for rapid detection of phage contamination in a fermentation process through a novel photonic platform technology. Specifically, a platform will be developed for detecting phage in cheese making processes. The platform combines nanophotonics, microfluidics, and electrophoresis, and is based on discoveries made at University of California - Davis. The system is focused on the manipulation of charged phages with electrophoresis, and their accelerated amplification in bacteria. In addition, the system uses electrophoretic capture of phages into a nanophotonic crystal to achieve highly sensitive detection of the target phages. The salient features of the platform are: a) High-throughput, fast trapping of phages; b) High sensitivity and large dynamic range for quantification of phage concentration; and c) Scalable design that can be produced at low cost.