Improved biochemical hybrid for a cost-effective gluten sensor - I2I Phase I

麸质是一种天然存在于小麦、黑麦和大麦等植物中的蛋白质，已知会导致世界上高达1.4%的乳糜泻患者发生严重的自身免疫反应，并且越来越多地成为饮食选择的目标。检测食品中的麸质具有挑战性，对消费者来说尤其如此，对食品制造商来说也是如此。现有测试所需的时间、相关成本以及无法准确测试加工食品中的麸质以及在不同的pH值和温度条件下的麸质，进一步激励了开发更好的实验室基础和“即时”麸质测试技术。本提案的重点是开发先进的面筋传感技术，并最终将其转化为台式面筋检测装置；期望这项工作将在以后带来快速、准确和可靠的便携式解决方案。与我们的合作伙伴合作，包括foodcheck Systems Inc（加拿大）。作为一家专门从事食品安全测试的公司，研究团队将选择和测试合适的适配体和兼容的荧光传感器材料，验证结果，并设计和测试能够识别和测量荧光响应的光学滤光片。这项工作已经获得了多项专利，并有望商业化，产生可观的经济效益。作为一种领先的麸质检测解决方案，该产品在世界各地的食品生产和消费市场中得到了广泛应用，目前这些市场依赖于耗时且准确性有限的测试方法。该技术还可用于开发其他过敏原检测设备，提高产品安全性。最终的目标是让过敏患者对自己的食物有信心

Gluten, a protein naturally present in plants such as wheat, rye and barley, is known to cause serious autoimmune reactions in up to 1.4% of the world's population with Celiac disease, and is increasingly the target of dietary choices. Testing for gluten in food is challenging, especially for consumers, but also for food manufacturers. The time required for existing tests, the associated costs, and an inability to test accurately for gluten in processed foods and in varying pH and temperature conditions provide further incentive to develop better lab based and 'on the go' gluten testing technologies. This proposal is focused on the development of our advanced gluten sensing technology and its eventual transformation to a bench-top gluten detection device; with the expectation that this work will later lead to fast, accurate and reliable portable solutions. Working with our partners, including FoodChek Systems Inc (Canada). a company specializing in food safety tests, the research team will select and test an appropriate aptamer and compatible fluorescence-based sensor material, validate the results, and design and test an optical filter able to identify and measure the fluorescence response. The proposed work has led to a number of patents already and is expected to be commercialized to substantial economic benefit. As a leading gluten detection solution, the product has uses around the world in a food production and consumption market that currently relies on a time consuming and limited accuracy testing approach. The technology additionally has application for the development of other allergen detection devices, increasing product safety. Ultimately, the goal is to provide allergy sufferers with confidence in their food consumption.