AN ELLIPSOMETRIC ASSAY FOR THE DETECTION AND QUANTIFICATION OF PENICILLIN RESIDUES IN MILK

THE PRESENCE OF PENICILLIN RESIDUES IN MILK HAS POSED A LONG-STANDING HEALTH PROBLEM FOR CONSUMERS AND AN ECONOMIC PROBLEM FOR DAIRY PRODUCERS AND MILK PROCESSORS. CURRENT METHODOLOGIES USED TO DETECT THESE RESIDUES DO NOT POSSESS THE ATTRIBUTES CONSISTENT FOR TESTING OF MILK AT ALL STAGES OF PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING. THE APPLICABILITY OF DDX'S OPTEST TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DETECTION OF PENICILLIN RESIDUES IN MILK WILL BE EVALUATED BY DEFINING THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ELLIPSOMETRIC ASSAY COMPONENTS. THE TASKS WILL INCLUDE THE SELECTION OF LIGAND(S), DETERMINATION OF ATTACHMENT CHEMISTRIES, EVALUATION OF STRATEGIES TO CURB NON-SPECIFIC BINDING PROBLEMS, AND PTIMIZATION OF THE ELIPSOMETRY INSTRUMENT. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THESE OBJECTIVES WILL YIELD A TEST OF HIGH SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY WHICH HAS THE INHERENT VERSATILITY SUFFICIENT FOR USE AT ALL STAGES OF MILK PRODUCTION, WHERE THE DETECTION OF PENICILLIN RESIDUES IS IMPORTANT FOR BOTH HEALTH AND ECONOMIC REASONS. A FULL QUANTITATIVE REPORT WILL COMPARE OPTEST TO CURRENT SCREENING METHODS.