Purdue Researchers Present New Pathogen Detection Technologies

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A transistor that outperforms its silicon counterpart and a method that improves detection of food-borne pathogens, such as Salmonella and E. coli, were two new technologies presented by Purdue University researchers at a recent symposium.

The new technologies were presented at the invitation-only 2008 University Research and Entrepreneurship Symposium in Boston. The event featured presentations of universities' research technologies currently in development that have the potential to transfer into a viable startup company or be licensed to an existing company.

"Both of these promising technologies are under development in our Office of Technology Commercialization," said Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and COO of the Purdue Research Foundation, which manages the Office of Technology Commercialization. "We fully expect that these new technologies will become a new company and join the more than 150 companies we already have in the Purdue Research Park or will be licensed from Purdue by another company that is already established."

The "Commercial Opportunities for Graphene Electronics & Materials" was presented by Michael A. Capano, a Purdue associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in West Lafayette, Ind.

"Graphene electronics technology enables a new class of carbon-based transistors and integrated circuits with performance far superior to silicon," Capano said. "In fact, graphene transistors will ultimately carry 10 times higher current than a comparable silicon transistor, exhibit a tenfold increase in transconductance and operate at cutoff frequencies 10 times higher than silicon."

The intrinsic properties of graphene make this material attractive for radio frequency communications. Interest in graphene for RF applications relates to its high cutoff frequency, which results from the high electron velocity in graphene. Higher speed circuits also are attractive for digital applications. Potential markets for graphene electronics include use in cell phones, personal computers, and military radar and communication systems.

Provisional patent applications have been filed for the graphene electronics.

The "Identi-Screen: Advanced Pathogen Identification Technology" was presented by Mark Krivchenia, senior technology manager for the Office of Technology Commercialization. The Purdue researchers are E. Daniel Hirleman, the William E. and Florence E. Perry Head and Professor of Mechanical Engineering; J. Paul Robinson, the School of Veterinary Medicine Professor of Cytomics; and Arun K. Bhunia, a professor of food science in the College of Agriculture.

"Identi-Screen is a high-tech method to detect food-borne pathogens, such as Salmonella and E. coli, that populate the nation's and the world's five major food groups — meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, seafood," Hirleman said. "The method we have developed is less labor intensive and less expensive than existing methods and could save the lives of people in both the developed and developing nations. It also could save hundreds of millions of dollars for devastating recalls of contaminated food discovered after processing and distribution."

The Identi-Screen system works by passing a laser light through a sample colony grown on a Petri dish to produce a scattering pattern onto an image plane. The image is recorded and analyzed to identify the pathogens in the sample using proprietary software.

Pathogen detection was an $870 million market in 2004 with a growth rate of 7 percent.

The need for pathogen testing is not restricted to the U.S. food manufacturing industry. Medical laboratories and pet food processing also require frequent pathogen testing. Countries that export food products to the United States are coming under increased pressure to boost testing.

"The market opportunities for this type of technology are vast," Hirleman said. "There are about 60,000 U.S. food processing plants and independent pathogen testing laboratories with annual revenues of $961 million. Those include domestic pet food manufacturers, sterilization service providers, and hospital and medical laboratories."

The World Health Organization estimates that food-borne disease costs China between $4.7 billion and $14 billion a year in medical care expenses and lost productivity. India's food exports to the United States are about $3.33 billion annually, with expected increases in the future.

Identi-Screen has two patents pending and is available for licensing through Purdue's Office of Technology Commercialization.