Novel Electrochemical Sensors for Ag Diagnostics and GMOs

Unique challenges face agriculture diagnostics, dictated by the small profit margins in crop production and the need for rapid, reliable assay information under highly variable environmental conditions. The need to identify genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has recently become acute due to new legislation, public demands, global transport of plants, and commercial processing of food and fiber. Agdia, a leader in agricultural diagnostics has developed a formal agreement with AndCare, a leader in electrochemical-medical diagnostics, to develop novel, state-of-the-art electrochemical sensor arrays for the detection of analytes of importance to agriculture. Using proprietary immunoassay technology developed by Agdia, we plan to construct 8- and 96-well sensor arrays and portable electrochemical readers to detect commercially important Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) toxins used in genetically modified plants (corn and cotton) to control insects. The core technology being developed in this proposal can also be used for the detection on non-BT GMOs, plant pathogens, and pesticides. Our new assay technology will be quantitative, fast, inexpensive, able to detect multiple analytes simultaneously, portable, and easy to conduct under field conditions without the need for specialized training.