Globally, over 70% of freshwater is used for agriculture to produce crops, which provide 30-40% of the world’s gross food output. It is inevitable to seek alternative sources of water, such as recycled water and agricultural return flows, to guarantee food and water security. However, poorly monitored recycled water and return flows can transmit waterborne diseases to consumers. To address this need, Prof Cheng is developing C60 probes that target 16S rRNA sequence for identification with microchips that multiplex the tests. This work is supported by the USDA for the period of three years and conducted in collaboration with Prof. Skwor.
In detail, the Cheng Group will receive biospecimens from farms and water treatment plants to develop C60 probes for waterborne pathogens, develop and validate microchips for multiplexing waterborne pathogens, and validate novel efficient methods for sterilization. This proposed technology will be able to profile multiple pathogens simultaneously in 15 minutes from end-to-end cost-effectively.