Alcorn State University Projects
1. Development of an Integrated Sensor System for Real-time Monitoring of Metabolites of Organophosphorus Chemical Warfare Agents, Pesticides, and E. coli in Food and Water (Dr. Yolanda Jones) - Active
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has assigned high priority to the deterrence and prevention of terrorist acts, which threaten the security of American citizens and critical infrastructure. The focus of this project is to address this critical need by developing technology for a low cost, robust sensor system which will be deployed for three critical environments for monitoring against biological and chemical agents.
2. Lab on a Chip for Rapid Detection of Multiple High Consequence Human and Plant Pathogens (Dr. Yolanda Jones) - Active
The objective of the research project is the development a new technique for sample sorting, separation and sensing for simultaneous detection of DNA of eight (8) of the high priority pathogens. Current advances in micromechanical systems, nanotechnology, and microfluidics open many new possibilities for producing fast, sensitive, and inexpensive sensing systems for field applications. The synergy among these technological components is expected to improve response time, limit of detection, and sensitivity, and drastically reduce false positive and false negative responses. The proposed work is expected to advance the state of the art in pathogen detection by delivering an ultrasensitive, portable, and cost effective system for rapid detection of multiple high priority pathogens simultaneously. Potential pathogens (bacterial, viral, and fungi) to be investigated include: Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, Yersina enterocolitica, Yersina pestis, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium parvum, Ricin, Bacillus anthracis, Staphyloccoccus aureus, Clostridium boulinum, Norovirus, Tilletia indica, Phakopsora pachyrhizi, and Synchytrium endobioticum.