Technology pairs with smartphones, laptops to produce results
Foodborne illness hits about one in six people in the United States every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million people in the U.S. get sick due to one or more of 31 recognized pathogens, including E. coli O157:H7, a particularly harsh strain of E. coli.
Researchers at Purdue University have been working to develop new technologies to help stop the spread of foodborne illnesses, which kill 3,000 people a year, by detecting them more efficiently. They have developed a bioluminescence-based assay coupled with a portable device that works with smartphones and laptops to do on-site testing for harmful E. coli in food samples.
The silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) device uses low light to from the bioluminescent assay to detect the presence of bacteria that cause foodborne illness in food samples. The Purdue team also created an electrical circuit with an amplifier, comparator and micro controller to send the data to laptops and smartphones via Bluetooth technology. They used 3D printing to design a portable cradle for the SiPM. The research is published in the January edition of Applied Optics.
“Our goal is to create technology and a process that allows for the cost-effective detection of the causes of foodborne illness using an easy, expedient and efficient process,” said Euiwon Bae, a senior research scientist of mechanical engineering in Purdue’s College of Engineering, who developed the technology along with Bruce Applegate, a professor of food science in Purdue’s College of Agriculture. “This time frame allows for better integrated detection and quicker action to stop more people from getting sick.”
To show the proof of concept, the Purdue team tested the device with artificially contaminated samples of ground beef from a local grocery store. They injected E. coli into the beef samples and then used their device to analyze the sample within 10 hours of inoculation.
The beef is rinsed and incubated with an enrichment liquid containing a modified phage, a virus for bacteria. The phage then infects harmful foodborne bacteria so that when a substrate is added, the bacteria emit light, which is detected by the SiPM. The device is able to count light pulses or photons.
“Our assay offers higher sensitivity, lower cost, better portability and other distinct advantages when compared to existing detection methods,” Applegate said.
The special phage used with the smartphone technology was developed by Applegate and is being commercialized by Phicrobe, a Purdue University-affiliated startup founded by Applegate.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Foodborne illness detection
- Safe food: Protection against foodborne diseases in communal facilities
Science X is a network of high quality websites with most complete and comprehensive daily coverage of the full sweep of science, technology, and medicine news ...
- 'Where did you get your walnuts?': Foodborne illness attorney warns of E. coli in WA walnuts
Bill Marler, a foodborne illness lawyer and national expert, has been closely monitoring the situation, cautioning consumers about the potential risks associated with consuming these tainted nuts. As ...
- NOMADX Holdings Launches Early Access Program for its Pioneering Hand-Held Food Pathogen Detection Platform
Powered by technology originally licensed from a leading university, but modified thereafter, the NOMADX cartridge-enhanced SERS platform is a patented surface coating that is applied to silicon chips ...
- Faces of Food Safety: Meet Dayna M. Harhay of the Animal Research Center
Harhay was invited to help lead the ARS-wide Salmonella Grand Challenge project because of her cutting-edge research on Salmonella detection and characterization ... in food and reduce the risk of ...
- USDA Releases New Dairy Rules to Prevent Bird Flu
In a conference call, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says the increased testing of dairy cattle for the H5N1 virus has continued to prove the virus is not generally fatal to cattle, and the ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Foodborne illness detection
[google_news title=”” keyword=”foodborne illness detection” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Silicon photomultiplier device
- Study demonstrates fast photoionization detection of single erbium ions in silicon
Efficient detection of single optical centers is crucial for applications in quantum computing, sensing, and single-photon generation. For example, nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have made ...
- Every M-series Apple silicon chip, device, and release date
M-series Apple silicon chips tout impressive performance but unpredictable release cadence. That makes it hard to keep up with ...
- Pure silicon extraction promises quantum computing advances
Researchers unveil a refined silicon production technique, crucial for high-performance qubit devices and advancing quantum computing.
- New super-pure silicon chip opens path to powerful quantum computers
Researchers at the Universities of Melbourne and Manchester have invented a breakthrough technique for manufacturing highly purified silicon that brings powerful quantum computers a big step closer.
- Every M-series Apple silicon chip and device
M-series Apple silicon chips tout impressive performance but unpredictable release cadence. That makes it hard to keep up with which chips are in which devices. Apple currently has three ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Silicon photomultiplier device
[google_news title=”” keyword=”silicon photomultiplier device” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]