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OLIGONUCLEOTIDE LIGANDS FOR PESTICIDE DETECTION IN FOODS
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Email: STAFF@HIBIOTECH.COM
DESCRIPTION (applicant's abstract): The detection of pesticide residue in foods
is a significant issue in food safety. Current analytical methods, however,
involve complicated and expensive equipment that requires skilled operators and
cannot be readily applied to field applications. Antibody based methods are
possible alternatives to current pesticide detection methods; however, the
development of antibodies against these small molecules is not a trivial task.
Oligonucleotide ligands present distinct advantages over antibodies with
regards to development, production, and stability. For these reasons, the
development of pesticide detection methods that utilize these binding molecules
is attractive. Our company is interested in utilizing oligonucleotide ligands
for the development of pesticide assays that can be readily utilized in the
field to analyze food samples. As a first step in the development of these
tests, we propose to develop oligonucleotide ligands against the
organophosphate pesticide fenitrothion, develop and optimize an enzyme assay
using the ligands, then compare the assay performance with that of a
commercially available immunoassay. If successful, this novel application of
oligonucleotide ligands would lead to the development of commercially viable,
field deployable methods for detection of pesticide residue on foods.
PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION:
Rapid, field deployable methods for detection of pesticides would have direct relevance
to food producers and processors as well as regulatory agencies of all nations for
surveillance of these chemical compounds in foods thus giving them a global and
potentially huge commercial market.
* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *