AgroPathogenMeter- developing a handheld platform for on-farm, rapid and, inexpensive animal testing

我们建议开发农业病原仪(APM)-一个现场、快速和廉价的农场动物致死病原体测试平台。当今检测动物感染病原体的最先进方法是基于聚合酶链式反应(PCR)。虽然聚合酶链式反应是一种高度精确的技术，但它是一种基于实验室的集中式测试，其样本到答案的时间大约为几天。这种漫长的等待时间可能会导致疾病的传播、不必要的动物屠宰和动物福利问题。加拿大养猪业创造了10万个就业机会和约80亿美元的年收入，由于围栏人数的减少、综合养殖做法以及人员和设备流动性的增加，该行业非常容易受到新出现的猪传染病的影响。加拿大和全球都不存在用于现场检测动物病原体的简单和廉价的工具。这增加了在需要时确定病原体的存在和来源的难度。我们的跨学科学术/行业团队将开发一种新的测试平台，在简单性、便携性和快速的样本到答案时间方面类似于广为人知的血糖仪，测试时间在几分钟内。我们的跨学科团队将解决创造简单且廉价的诊断设备的困难，这些设备足够灵敏，可以进行有意义的疾病测试。这将通过整合研究团队首创的创新材料和设备来实现。通过将特定的生物识别元件(DNAzyme)与催化目标回收相结合、用于减少非特定相互作用的混合生物有机材料以及高表面积纳米结构微电极的集成，该系统的分析灵敏度将显著提高。这个独特的跨学科项目将为HQP提供一个极好的培训机会，培训他们获得与在加拿大有强大影响力的多个行业相关的技术和技能，以及学术界和企业家的职业生涯。

We propose to develop the AgroPathogenMeter (APM)- a platform for on-site, rapid, and inexpensive testing of farm animals for deadly pathogens. Today's state-of-the-art method for testing animals for infectious pathogens is based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR). While a highly accurate technique, PCR is a centralized lab-based test, which results in sample-to-answer times in the order of days. This long wait time can lead to the spread of the disease, unnecessary animal slaughter, and animal welfare issues. The Canadian swine industry, the producer of >100,000 jobs and annual revenue of ~ $8 billion, is highly vulnerable to emerging swine infectious diseases due to the shrinking of boarders, integrated farming practices, and increased mobility of people and equipment. Simple and inexpensive tools for field detection of animal pathogens do not exist both in Canada and globally. This adds to the difficulty in identifying the presence and the source of pathogen at the point-of-need. Our interdisciplinary academic/industry team will develop a new testing platform that will be similar to the widely known glucose meter in terms of simplicity, portability, and rapid sample-to-answer times, with testing times in the order of minutes.Our interdisciplinary team will tackle the difficulties in creating simple and inexpensive diagnostic devices that are sensitive enough for meaningful disease testing. This will be achieved by integrating innovative materials and devices pioneered by the research team. The system's analytical sensitivity will be significantly enhanced through the integration of specific biorecognition elements (DNAzymes) coupled with catalytic target recycling, hybrid bio-organic materials for reducing non-specific interactions, and high surface area nanostructured microelectrodes. The unique and interdisciplinary project will provide an excellent training opportunity for HQP, training them in acquiring techniques and skills relevant to multiple industry sectors with a strong presence in Canada, as well as careers in academia and entrepreneurship.