COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: High-precision monitoring of foodborne pathogens in food manufacturing facilities

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Disease-causing bacterial microorganisms associated with food can cause various infectious diseases with significant health impacts. Food manufacturing and processing facilities are a rich place for these foodborne pathogens to spread; thus, it is important to have efficient detection systems that can be used to quickly monitor foodborne bacterial pathogens in food manufacturing facilities. Current technologies that are available for detecting pathogens can be expensive and/or take a long time to get results, so they are not suitable for routine application in fast-paced food manufacturing sites where products are developed continuously. New and improved technologies are needed for rapid detection of foodborne pathogens in order to avoid health impacts and economic losses due to food product recalls. This project will develop a novel technology that will accurately detect foodborne bacterial pathogens using a unique artificial molecule called ‘aptamer’ that is designed to act as a true test for the desired pathogen with the result detected in multiple ways to enhance precision. The technology will use computational methods and mobile devices, such as smartphones, to enable rapid detection and wireless data transmission for remote access to the results. The technology can be developed to detect various types of foodborne bacterial pathogens in real-time, a significant step towards improving food safety in food manufacturing and processing facilities. The project will provide students with hands-on training in the development of the technology to build the related skillset in the United States workforce. The project will also facilitate K-12 outreach programs on food safety as well as promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education amongst women and underrepresented minorities.The food industry needs “fit-for-purpose” pathogen detection technologies that can be easily integrated into manufacturing process systems to rapidly deliver precise identification and quantification of bacterial pathogens in real-time. Leveraging an interdisciplinary research team that will exploit structural bioinformatics, data analytics, and aptamer-based biosensing, the proposed project will develop a wireless multimodal aptasensor with mobile integration to precisely detect foodborne bacterial pathogens via an integrated electrochemical and optical monitoring. The technology will deliver the following performance characteristics: (i) a high-precision method for flow-through monitoring; (ii) a portable device that can be moved to different process locations; (iii) an ability to detect target pathogens in complex food micro environments; (iv) capacity for real-time remote monitoring and integration into SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems; and (v) multimodal sensing capability to enhance precision. These represent significant improvements over existing foodborne pathogen detection systems used in food manufacturing facilities.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.