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RAPID AND QUANTITATIVE DETECTION OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI AND E. COLI O157 IN WELL WATER USING A NANO-WIRED BIOSENSOR AND QPCR
Impact/Purpose:
The hypothesis of this proposal is that a disposable biosensor and QPCR can be combined seamlessly to develop a unique biosensor-QPCR as a tool for near real-time determination of contaminant occurrence in drinking water. The specific objectives are: (1) Develop a protocol for processing water samples for the biosensor and QPCR; (2) Assess the performance of the biosensor and QPCR for sensitivity, specificity, recovery, and false positives/negatives of detection and enumeration for E. coli O157:H7 and H. pylori in groundwater samples from the field; (3) Develop a method for detecting and enumerating E. coli O157:H7 and H. pylori by QPCR using bacteria isolated and screened by the biosensor system; and (4) Validate a method for testing viability of E. coli O157:H7.
Description:
This project is expected to advance the use of antibody-based methods and molecular techniques for application to drinking water supplies. The expected deliverables are: (a) proof of concept and assessment of biosensor and QPCR techniques for recovery, detection and quantitation of bacteria in water; and (b) the development of a unique attribute that is not in the literature at the moment: the capability for direct confirmation through QPCR of presumptive results from the biosensor, thereby minimizing false positive and false negative analysis.