University of Arkansas

Biodetection Instruments, LLC

Yanbin Li

Cesar M Compadre

Philip J Breen

E Kim Fifer

Michael F Slavik

Danny L Lattin

Hamid Salari

Timothy J O'Brien

Amy L Waldroup

Thomas F Berg

Xiao-Li Su

Yongcheng Liu

Phillip V Engler

Zungzhong Ye

Carl L Griffis

Qian Sun

Mike Slavik

Madhukar Varshney

Zunzhang Ye

Liju Yang

Chuanmin Ruan

The multichannel capillary biosensor system includes a selecting valve system for selection of the sample or a reagent. The selecting valve system is connected to a second valve system accommodating a sensing channel and a first bypass channel. The second valve system is connected to a directing valve system having at least two positions, with a first position being connected to a second bypass channel and a second position being connected to a detector for detecting the analyte. The device has a pump connected at one end to the second bypass channel and the detector and at a second end to a waste vessel. The device also has a control system for controlling the device. The analyte can be selected from the group of microorganisms, macromolecules, and small molecules.

Versatile multichannel capillary biosensor system

A concentrated quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) solution comprising a QAC with a concentration greater than about 10% by weight and at least one solubility enhancing agent, such as an alcohol, is disclosed. A diluted QAC solution is useful on food products to prevent microbial growth on the food from a broad spectrum of foodborne microbial contamination. Also disclosed is a method of contacting food products with the dilute QAC for an application time of at least 0.1 second. Foods that can be treated by this method are meat and meat products, seafood, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, pet foods and snacks, and any other food that can be 10 treated and still retain its appearance and texture. One of the treatment methods is spraying and misting the QAC solutions on the food products for an application time of at least 0.1 second to prevent broad spectrum foodborne microbial contamination.

Concentrated, non-foaming solution of quaternary ammonium compounds and methods of use

The present invention is directed to satisfying the need to detect microbial contamination of food products. The described bioseparator/bioreactor coupled with an optical/electrochemical biosensor was able to specifically detectO157:H7 from 8.8&#xd7;10to 8.8&#xd7;10CFU/ml in 2.5 hours without any enrichment. Using this invention, concentrations of S. Typhimurium ranging from 8.6&#xd7;10to 8.6&#xd7;10CFU/ml in pure culture were detected in 2 hours without any enrichment. The invention may also be used for the detection of S. Seftenberg, which has the same sensitivity as S. Typhimurium. Other pathogens such asand S. Heidleberg did not interfere with the detection. The optimum inner diameter of the 25 cm long column for the detection ofO157:H7 is 250 &#x3bc;m. The detection limit for other microbial pathogens may be controlled by changing the length of capillary columns, using higher concentration of the labeled antibodies, altering the flow rate and concentration of the substrate, and increasing the reaction temperature to 37&#xb0; C.

Capillary-column-based bioseparator/bioreactor with an optical/electrochemical detector for detection of microbial pathogens

A method for determining a concentration of a contaminant in a first sample, the method including producing the first sample, including adding a plurality of immuno-beads to a test substance; exposing a crystal microbalance immunosensor to the first sample; determining a change in a first motional resistance of the crystal microbalance immunosensor following exposure to the first sample (&#x394;R); and determining the concentration of the contaminant in the first sample according to &#x394;R.

Method for detecting an unknown contaminant concentration in a substance

Methods are disclosed for the capture, detection, separation, isolation and quantification of contaminants in a starting material. Also disclosed are competitive assay methods for the detection and quantification of contaminants in a starting material. Kits for use with the method are disclosed as well. A system for capturing, separating and/or concentrating contaminants from a material is also presented. The system captures, separates and/or concentrates contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, other microorganisms, and/or larger items, such as insects, from a variety of materials, such as food, and environmental and clinical materials. In general, the system uses a rotating magnetic field to mix the material with magnetic particles to capture the target contaminants, and a fixed magnetic field to separate and concentrate the captured target contaminants.

Separation system and efficient capture of contaminants using magnetic nanoparticles

A concentrated quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) solution comprising a QAC with a concentration from greater than about 10% by weight and at least one solubility enhancing agent, such as an alcohol, is disclosed. A diluted QAC solution is used to contact food products to prevent microbial growth on the food products from a broad spectrum of foodborne microbial contamination. A method of contacting the food products with the dilute QAC for an application time of at least 0.1 second is disclosed. The foods that can be treated by this method are meat and meat products, seafood, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, pet foods and snacks, and any other food that can be treated and still retain its appearance and texture. One of the treatment methods is spraying and misting the QAC solutions on the food products for an application time of at least 0.1 second to prevent broad spectrum foodborne microbial contamination.

A method for in situ detection of viable pathogenic bacteria in a selective medium by measuring cathodic peak current of oxygen on cyclic voltammograms during bacterial proliferation with an electrochemical voltammetric analyzer. The rapid oxygen consumption at a time during the growth of bacteria resulted in a sharp decline of the cathodic peak current curves. The detection times (threshold values) obtained from the cathodic peak current curve were inversely related to the concentrations of the pathogenic bacteria in the medium. This method for detection of pathogenic bacteria is more sensitive than nucleic acid-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods and any of antibody-based methods such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technology, electrochemical immunoassays, immunosensors, and it has a sensitivity similar to conventional culture methods and impedimetric methods but is more rapid than both of them. A calibration curve was obtained by plotting initial cell concentrations (CFU/ml) determined by conventional plate counting, as a function of the detection time.

Rapid and automated electrochemical method for detection of viable microbial pathogens

Concentrated, non-foaming solution of quarternary ammonium compounds and methods of use

A method of using quaternary ammonium compounds for inhibiting attachment of and removing a broad spectrum of foodborne microbial contamination from food products. The method uses quaternary ammonium compounds for inhibiting attachment of and removing microorganisms such as, Staphylococcus, Campylobacter, Arcobacter, Listeria, Aeromonas, Bacillus, Salmonella, non-toxin-producing Escherichia, and pathogenic toxin-producing Escherichia, such as 0157:H7; fungi, such as Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium chrysogenum; and parasites, such as Entameba histolytica from a broad range of food. The foods that can be treated by this method are meat, seafood, vegetables, and fruit. One of the treatment methods is spraying quaternary ammonium compounds on the food products to prevent broad spectrum foodborne microbial contamination. New formulations of quaternary ammonium compounds combined with glycerin and/or ethyl alcohol provides a concentrated formulation for industrial use and a diluted formulation for use in spraying methods.

Method for the broad spectrum prevention and removal of microbial

A composition and a method of using the composition for removal and prevention of broad spectrum foodborne microbial contamination in meat products. The method uses quaternary ammonium compounds for inhibiting attachment of and removing a broad spectrum of foodborne microbial contamination from poultry and meat products. The method uses quaternary ammonium compounds for inhibiting attachment of and removing Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination from meat and poultry products. One of the treatment methods is spraying quaternary ammonium compounds on the poultry and meat products to prevent broad spectrum foodborne microbial contamination. The treatment methods can contact the meat products with the quaternary ammonium compounds for less than 10 minutes and still obtain significant reduction of viable foodborne microorganisms. New formulations of quaternary ammonium compounds combined with glycerin and/or ethyl alcohol provides a concentrated formulation for industrial use and a more viscous formulation for use in spraying methods.

A method for the reduction or elimination of microbes in liquid or food products whereby the passage of a waveform, such as a DC square-wave, of a specific amplitude, duty cycle and current through the liquid or food product for a specific time period, allows for the elimination of microbes such as Salmonella Typhimurium from a variety of substances, including water, milk and solid food products.

Growing community of inventors

Fayetteville, AR, United States of America

Yanbin Li