Location: Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-32000-112-003-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jan 1, 2023
End Date: Jun 30, 2024
Objective:
This proposal aims to develop an infrared-functionalized microbalance sensor which can detect and differentiate Cyclospora cayetanensis and be used to reduce parasite contamination risk in food and water resources through the following objectives:
Objective 1: Determine the signature of model organisms and test the ability of the platform to differentiate between individual species and mock communities of model organisms.
Objective 2: Determine the signature of Cyclospora cayetanensis and test the ability of the platform to differentiate between Cyclospora cayetanensis and other protist parasites.
Approach:
This project will combine the pathogen fingerprinting capabilities of infrared spectroscopy and a cantilever-based microbalance sensor to create a platform which can accurately and efficiently detect and identify the physicochemical signatures of Cyclospora cayetanensis. Model organisms which can be propagated in animal models and/or acquired from
commercial sources will be used to test, design, and validate the sensing platform. As Cyclospora cayetanensis is a human pathogen which cannot be propagated, only final testing and design stages will use Cyclospora cayetanensis directly.
