A fieldable modular biosensor for use in detection of foodborne pathogens

The development of a novel, impedance-based, fieldable biosensor system is described. The portable biosensor system uses a variety of disposable analyte-specific sensor modules, each of which can be used to quantitatively measure the presence of specific analytes. The response for each sensor is rapid, and stable readings can be obtained in less than 1 min. Initial efforts have extended the use of the blosensor system to the detection of the foodborne pathogens E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. Potential applications are expected to be broad, Including possible class detection of environmental endocrine disrupters, detection of the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenies, and quantitative assessment of biological warfare agents.