I-Corps: Rapid field detection of crop pathogens using portable reflective interferometry

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a portable detector for pathogen testing of fruit crops in the field. The market for agricultural testing is over $20 billion per year, with greater potential for smaller firms for whom the current methods are impractical. Getting immediate results in the field is important since disease can spread through orchards in days and ruin entire crops. The proposed architecture may be applicable to point-of-care diagnostic sensors for food safety applications and for animal and human disease detection. This I-Corps project is based on the development of an optical platform that is designed to produce large changes in reflectivity when small amounts of material adhere to its surface. The system uses a robust and convenient substrate, silicon, and a simple light-emitting diode, to implement the platform. Attached antibodies selectively bind specific pathogens of interest to the substrate in a way enabling the antibodies to recognize the appropriate target antigen even when immobilized on the surface. Sensitive detection is achieved through a process that discourages unwanted molecules from sticking to the surface.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.