This Spinning Disk Can Detect Salmonella In 30 Minutes, Chemical And Engineering News Reveals

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Researchers have created a spinning disk that can quickly tell--within 30 minutes--if food samples contain Salmonella. The most widely-used method to test for the pathogen involves growing out samples on petri dishes and can take days so this has potential to be much quicker and cheaper, according to Chemical and Engineering News. Salmonella enteritidis, as its known, causes an estimated 1.2 million illnesses and 450 deaths in the U.S. each year. The device, described in a paper published in Analytical Chemistry, contains six channels branching off from a central groove, where food samples are placed. As the device spins, the fluid is forced outward, traveling through small channels. Any bacteria is first concentrated on beads, which are coated with antibodies that bind to Salmonella. Cells are then broken apart with a laser, and DNA is amplified using primer specific to the bacteria.

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