Rapid detection of toxic petroleum residues in seafood

描述：石油泄漏会造成巨大的环境破坏，并对公众健康构成严重威胁。石油含有许多有毒化合物，包括多环芳烃（PAH）。一些PAH化合物具有高度致癌性，可导致人类DNA突变。当石油泄漏入海时，多环芳烃化合物迅速扩散到海洋环境中，最终在海洋生物中积累，威胁到我们的海产品供应。美国食品和药物管理局（FDA）规定，受石油污染的海鲜不适合人类食用，不应收获或出售。因此，在发生石油泄漏后，需要进行仔细监测，以评估受污染区域的范围，确保海产品供应不含PAH化合物，并监测受影响区域恢复正常状态，以便重新开放封闭区域。不幸的是，尽管有这一关键需求，目前使用的筛选方法是有点不准确和不可靠的检测潜在的有害水平的多环芳烃化合物的海鲜。迫切需要新的替代测试方法。在第一阶段，我们创建了一个快速的酶为基础的检测PAH化合物。该方法比现有的测试方法简单、快速、方便。我们的检测方法的上级属性使其有可能彻底改变海鲜PAH检测。在第二阶段，我们将优化和商业化开发该检测试剂盒，以生产可靠和耐用的检测试剂盒。为了能够在码头进行测试并消除有毒有机溶剂的使用，我们将创建一种基于洗涤剂的新方法来处理海鲜样品。下一步，我们将扩大专有酶试剂的生产规模，以满足市场需求。最后，为了获得客户的认可，我们将根据公认的NOAA测试方法验证我们的酶测定。我们的检测试剂盒将为海产品生产商和FDA和NOAA等政府机构提供急需的具有成本效益、可靠和灵敏的工具，用于在石油泄漏后检测海产品中的石油。

DESCRIPTION: Oil spills can cause tremendous environmental damage and are a serious threat to public health. Petroleum contains many toxic compounds, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Some PAH compounds are highly carcinogenic and cause DNA mutations in humans. When petroleum is spilled into the sea, PAH compounds rapidly spread through the marine environment and eventually accumulate in marine life and threaten our seafood supply. The FDA has mandated that petroleum-contaminated seafood is unfit for human consumption and should not be harvested or sold. Therefore, after an oil spill, careful monitoring is needed to assess the extent of the contaminated areas, ensure that seafood supplies are free of PAH compounds and monitor the return of affected areas to a normal state to allow re-opening of closed areas. Unfortunately, despite this critical need, the most currently used screening method is somewhat inaccurate and unreliable for the detection of potentially hazardous levels of PAH compounds in seafood. New alternative testing methods are sorely needed. In Phase I, we created a rapid enzyme-based assay to detect PAH compounds. Our method is much simpler, faster and more convenient than current test methods. The superior attributes of our assay give it the potential to revolutionize seafood PAH testing. In Phase II we will optimize and commercially develop the assay to produce a reliable and rugged test kit. To enable dockside testing and eliminate the use of toxic organic solvents, we will create a novel detergent-based method to process seafood samples. Next, we will scale-up manufacturing of our proprietary enzyme reagents to meet market needs. Lastly, to gain customer acceptance, we will validate our enzymatic assay against the accepted NOAA test method. Our test kit will provide seafood producers and government agencies such as the FDA and NOAA with a much-needed cost-effective, reliable and sensitive tool to detect petroleum in seafood after oil spills.