EAGER: Nanostructured Colorimetric Polymer For Pathogen Detection

[09477771]本探索性研究的目标是合成和加工能够识别多种细菌病原体的聚合物薄膜。这种柔性聚合物可以作为食品包装产品的插入物，或作为医院环境中的棉签，一旦识别出大肠杆菌、李斯特菌、沙门氏菌、弯曲杆菌、军团菌等病原体，棉签就会发生颜色变化，为制造商、消费者和卫生保健工作者提供一种简便的识别污染的方法。所提出的聚合物薄膜由层状结构组成，在识别小分子时改变厚度，“自诱导剂”是细菌分泌的相互交流的物质。厚度的变化会导致颜色的变化，这种变化可以直观地观察到。基于这种嵌段共聚物薄膜的传感器在选择性识别细菌信号分子的能力上是独一无二的，而不需要额外的染料或配体。这将导致一种完全不同的传感器制造方法，从而产生用于质量监测和大量食品保存的低成本传感器。在这项工作中开展的教育活动旨在教育和培训将多样性视为优势的下一代工程师。我们计划了几项举措，包括协助本科和研究生教育、研究生辅导和培训来自少数族裔富裕社区学校的高中生的具体项目。

0947771KofinasThe goal of this exploratory research is to synthesize and process polymer thin films capable of recognizing a variety of bacterial pathogens. Such flexible polymers could be applied as an insert on food packaging products, or as a swab in a hospital setting which, upon recognition of pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Legionella, undergo a color change providing manufacturers, consumers, and healthcare workers with a facile method for identifying contamination. The proposed polymer thin films consist of a layered structure which changes thickness upon recognition of small molecules, "autoinducers", that bacteria secrete to communicate with each other. The thickness change results in a color change which can be visually observed. Sensors based on such block copolymer films will be unique in their ability to selectively recognize bacterial signaling molecules without the need for additional dyes or ligands. This will result in a radically different approach for sensor fabrication, resulting in low-cost sensors for quality monitoring and preservation of a large number of food products. The education activities to be undertaken in this work are designed to educate and train a next-generation engineers that embrace diversity as a strength. We have several initiatives planned including specific programs that assist in undergraduate and graduate education, graduate student mentoring, and training of high school students from schools in minority-rich communities.