Development of breathalyzer biosensor for cannabis detection**

生物传感器是一种分析设备，由附着在传感器表面的生物分子具体结合到目标分析物分子上；结合生化信号后，传感器将其转换为电信号，产生简单的信号读数，如“是”或“否”。生物传感器开发将先进的纳米技术与生物识别的基本原理结合在一起，目的是开发用于药物测试、食品安全和环境控制的新传感器和设备。**该项目的主要目标是在桑泰克实验室和滑铁卢大学的Leonenko博士的实验室之间建立合作，目的是为开发大麻呼气测定仪传感器设备确定最优的生物传感协议，这将允许快速和简单地测试空气(呼吸)，以便识别大麻的存在。**Leonenko博士的实验室在生物物理、纳米技术方面拥有专业知识，并领导由NSERC资助的生物传感器开发研究计划。SannTek Labs是一家快速发展的高绩效初创公司，基于滑铁卢大学Velocity创业项目，目标是制造其首个创新产品并将其推向市场，这是一种用于大麻检测的呼气测定仪。**两个团队的互补专业知识和努力将结合在一起，实现SannTek大麻呼气测定仪的成功开发，该项目中获得的协议将立即纳入传感器开发用于生产。**大麻检测设备在加拿大是一种急需的产品。这种传感器设备将极大地帮助和改进药物测试程序，因此它将有助于所有加拿大人的安全，帮助受药物损害的个人远离道路和危险活动。**

Biosensors are analytical devices which consist of biological molecules attached to the sensor surface that bind specifically to target analyte molecules; upon binding a biochemical signal then converted to an electric signal by a transducer producing simple signal readout, such as "Yes", or "No". Biosensor development combines advanced nanotechnologies with the fundamentals of biological recognition with the purpose of developing new sensors and devices for drug testing, food safety and environmental control.**The main goal of this project is to establish collaboration between SannTek Labs and Dr. Leonenko's laboratory at University of Waterloo with the purpose to identify the most optimal biosensing protocols for the development of breathalyzer sensor device for cannabis, which will allow for the quick and simple testing of the air (breath) in order to identify the presence of cannabis.**Dr. Leonenko's laboratory has expertise in biophysics, nanotechnology and leads NSERC-funded research program in biosensor development. SannTek Labs is a rapidly growing high-performance startup company, based out of the Velocity entrepreneurship program at the University of Waterloo, and has a goal of building and bringing to market its first innovative product, a breathalyzer device for cannabis detection.**The complementary expertise and efforts of both groups will be combined to achieve the successful development of the SannTek cannabis breathalyzer, and the protocols obtained within this project will be immediately incorporated into the sensor development for production. **The device for cannabis testing is a desperately needed product within Canada. This sensor device will significantly help and improve the drug testing procedures, and thus it will contribute to the safety of all Canadians by helping keep drug-impaired individuals off the roads and away from dangerous activities.**