A research team at Kansas State University led by the postdoctoral student in chemistry,India, Lateef Syed is creating a biosensor based on nanotechnology working with Jun Li, associate professor of chemistry.
The research concentrates on E. coli. According to Syed, however, the technology could also trace pathogens including salmonella and viruses.
A research poster released the recently titled ‘Dielectrophoretic Capture of E. coli at Nanoelectrode Array’, and won an award at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit held in Topeka. Another report will be published shortly in the scientific journal Electrophoresis.
Carbon nanofibers, or CNFs were used to build the biosensors because they can create a series of nano-electrodes smaller than bacteria and viruses. An electric signal is emitted when the nano-particles are caught at the electrode surface. The aim is to incorporate this technology into a portable electronic apparatus to identify pathogens to enable in-line control of water or food quality at industrial processing units, says Syed.
The project is funded by the Canadian-based Early Warning with $240,000 over two years. Support has also come in from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases, or CEEZAD, at K-State.
Source: http://www.k-state.edu/