SBIR Phase I: Development of a portable, sensitive, user-friendly electrochemical biosensor for detecting Pesticide residues

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种便携式、更快、更便宜、更灵敏、更一致的用户友好型电化学生物传感器，用于检测有机磷和氨基甲酸酯农药(OPAC)残留。OPAC化学品在极大提高作物产量的同时，也(1)造成了食物链中农药残留的积累，(2)促进了抗药性昆虫的产生，(3)污染了空气、水和土壤。因此，OPAC残留是一个重大的公共卫生问题。建议的传感器将：提高监测有机污染物的灵敏度和特异度；(2)降低农药监测的成本；(3)改善监测设备的便携性。最后，建议的生物传感器技术可以适用于生物流体的分析，使其在监测环境暴露方面具有变革性。这项小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目建议开发一种更灵敏、现场可部署的电化学生物传感器，用于检测有机磷和氨基甲酸酯类农药(OPAC)的残留。该系统的原理是，OPaCs结合/抑制高度敏感的设计型乙酰胆碱酯酶(AChE)的活性，减少容易检测到的电化学电流。该系统的核心是一种新型的AChE酶，比目前使用的酶对OPAC残留物更敏感。该方法将通过合理设计减少聚集和增加/改善热稳定性、核心填充、表面极性和骨架刚性的变体来进一步优化这种新型酶的性能。最后，该方法将通过增加电化学传感设备的表面积来进一步提高OPAC检测的灵敏度。简而言之，该程序是将传感器浸入缓冲液中以获取和分配基线数据，添加测试样品以允许任何OPAC与传感器上优化的AChE酶结合，向样品中添加AChE底物乙酰硫代胆碱，并测量电化学抑制。综上所述，这种新型生物传感器将导致OPAC分析方式的重大转变，并为可靠、灵敏和低成本的现场分析铺平道路。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to develop a portable, faster, cheaper, more sensitive, more consistent user-friendly electrochemical biosensor for detection of organophosphate and carbamate pesticide (OPaC) residues. While OPaC chemicals have greatly improved crop yields, they have also (1) caused accumulation of pesticide residues in the food chain, (2) promoted the generation of pesticide-resistant insects, and (3) contaminated the air, water and soil. OPaC residues, therefore, are a significant public health concern. The proposed sensor will: increase the sensitivity and specificity for monitoring OPaCs (2) reduce costs associated with pesticide monitoring, and (3) improve portability of monitoring devices. Finally, the proposed biosensor technology could be adaptable for analyzing biofluids, making it transformative in monitoring environmental exposures.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop a more sensitive, field-deployable electrochemical biosensor for the detection of organophosphate and carbamate pesticide (OPaC) residues. The system’s principle is that OPaCs bind/inhibit the activity of a highly sensitive designer acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme, diminishing a readily detectable electrochemical current. At the system’s core is a novel AChE enzyme more sensitive to OPaC residues than those currently in use. The approach will further optimize the performance of this novel enzyme by rationally designing variants that decrease aggregation and increase/improve thermal stability, core packing, surface polarity, and backbone rigidity. Finally, the approach will enhance OPaC detection sensitivity even further by increasing the surface area of the electrochemical sensory apparatus. Briefly, the procedure is to submerge the sensor into a buffer to acquire and assign baseline data, add test samples to allow any OPaCs to bind to the optimized AChE enzyme on the sensor, add the AChE substrate acetylthiocholine to the sample, and measure electrochemical inhibition. Taken together, this novel biosensor will result in a major shift in the way OPaC analysis is performed and pave the way for reliable, sensitive, and low-cost field analysis.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.