The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Wai Hong Chung

Yun Chung Leung

Kwok-yin Wong

Ho Yin Chow

Ka Yan Chow

Pak Ho Chan

Hon Man Leung

Fast and simple method of detecting the presence of chloramphenicol, a harmful compound if present in food products. The method makes use of a mutant chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and a fluorophore-linked chloramphenicol in a system where chloramphenicol and the fluorophore-linked chloramphenicol competes for the active site of the mutant CAT. Because the fluorophore-linked chloramphenicol reduces its fluorescence upon binding to the active site and vice versa increases its fluorescence upon being displaced from the active site by the presence of unmodified chloramphenicol in a sample, the increase of fluorescence caused by a testing sample indicates the presence of chloramphenicol.

Growing community of inventors

Hong Kong, China

Wai Hong Chung