Steacie Fellowship RTI - Wireless Nanotechnology Sensor for Global Surveillance

Steacie Fellowship RTI - 用于全球监控的无线纳米技术传感器

• 批准号: 437899-2013
• 负责人: Chan, Warren
• 金额: $ 10.93万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=499115
• 关键词: Steacie; Fellowship; RTI; Wireless; Nanotechnology

My vision is to engineer a handheld wireless device capable of detecting and tracking the spread of pathogens. I plan to integrate nanotechnology, molecular targets, wireless technology to create the first generation of handheld molecular "telediagnostic" devices that can diagnose infectious pathogens from remote areas. Many of the current handheld molecular sensors are not useful for diagnosing pathogens in the developing world because of poor sensitivity and specificity, high cost, they are too large to be transported, or are operational complex and require skilled technicians. None of these devices can rapidly track and monitor the spread of pathogens within an ecosystem. This can have dire consequences. Canadians have observed the SARS epidemic crisis, invasion of fungi killing flowering dogwood trees in Ontario, and the Mad Cow disease outbreak in Alberta cattle in the past decade. The ability to streamline the diagnosis and tracking process of pathogens would enable a more effective strategy to contain epidemics. This could potentially preserve plant species, save the lives of many people, and reduce economic burden on workers that were exposed or to the public health care system. We will combine nanotechnology on surfaces with cell phone technology to analyze a multitude of molecular biomarkers simultaneously. Here we request support for a high-end flow cytometer system that would allow us to characterize our nanotechnology (e.g, quantum dots designed for detecting multiple targets) that would are an important component of our molecular sensor system.

我的愿景是设计一种能够检测和跟踪病原体传播的手持无线设备。我计划将纳米技术、分子靶标、无线技术整合在一起，创造出第一代手持分子远程诊断设备，可以诊断偏远地区的传染病病原体。目前的许多手持式分子传感器由于灵敏度和特异性差、成本高、体积太大而无法运输，或者操作复杂，需要熟练的技术人员，因此不适用于发展中国家的病原体诊断。这些设备都不能快速跟踪和监测病原体在生态系统内的传播。这可能会产生可怕的后果。在过去的十年里，加拿大人观察到了SARS疫情危机，真菌入侵安大略省杀死了开花的山茱萸，以及艾伯塔省牛的疯牛病爆发。简化病原体诊断和跟踪过程的能力将使遏制流行病的战略更加有效。这可能会保护植物物种，拯救许多人的生命，并减轻接触过或接触到公共卫生保健系统的工人的经济负担。我们将把表面纳米技术与手机技术相结合，同时分析多种分子生物标志物。在这里，我们请求支持高端流式细胞仪系统，使我们能够表征我们的纳米技术(例如，为检测多个目标而设计的量子点)，这将是我们分子传感器系统的重要组件。