HerbiScreen™ Uses Novel Biochip to Help Streamline Safety Testing for Herbicides in the World’s Food and Water Supply

Fayetteville, AR – Imagine a ship arriving in port with a load of fresh fruits and vegetables from South America. Before the ship can be unloaded, it must first pass inspection through the U.S. Port Authority. Part of the inspection procedure requires that the produce be tested for excessive levels of pesticides. Methods currently used to screen for pesticides require that samples from the ship be sent to a centralized lab and results are not available for two days or more. During this time, the produce in the ship is beginning to spoil. There are a small number of rapid strips available for screening a few pesticides, however, most of these do not have the desired detection limits and will miss any pesticides to which they are not specifically targeted.

Using novel biochip technology, Dr. Xiaoli Su and the team at BioDetection Instruments are developing a rapid method to screen for herbicides that will provide quantitative results within minutes. Called HerbiScreen™, this simple-to-use, handheld device uses an innovative biochip to detect a wide range of harmful and commonly used herbicides. The final device will meet or exceed EPA tolerance levels and will undergo AOAC validation and EPA approval before it is marketed.

Under the previously described scenario, the ship would arrive in port, the produce would be rapidly screened for herbicides using HerbiScreen™, and after passing the other necessary tests, will be sent on its way to your local grocery store. HerbiScreen™ can also be used to screen domestic produce and water supplies, and because it’s portable will help environmental agencies track sources of pesticide contamination. HerbiScreen is estimated to have a very large market in the U.S and other countries with strict quality control standards. In the future, BioDetection Instruments will also seek to develop similar biochips to detect all classes of pesticides, including insecticides. This project has received over $650,000 in Phase II SBIR funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Contact: Calvin Goforth
PH: (479) 527-9763

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