This project focuses on protecting public health and securing the national food supply by developing a rapid, on-site device to detect dangerous foodborne bacteria before contaminated products reach…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Tennessee State University $779,819 under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) on September 1, 2026, to develop the ACE Diagnostic Platform, a portable device that detects five major foodborne pathogens—Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, E. coli, and Clostridium perfringens—simultaneously in under two hours using biological capturing molecules, gene-recognition technology, and custom microfluidic cartridges that deliver results via smartphone application in the field.

The platform addresses the gap between laboratory testing methods that require up to a week for regulatory confirmation and faster but less sensitive field tests, enabling food industry operators to identify contaminated products before distribution without costly laboratory equipment or specialized personnel. Work is performed in Nashville, Tennessee through August 31, 2029. Beyond device development, the project trains university graduates, updates science curricula, and mentors regional middle and high school students in biotechnology. Tennessee State University's Research and Sponsored Programs Division, housed within the historically black university and urban land-grant institution, serves as the recipient. The assistance type is a project grant.

This project focuses on protecting public health and securing the national food supply by developing a rapid, on-site device to detect dangerous foodborne bacteria before contaminated products reach consumers. Current testing methods are either highly accurate but take up to a week to provide regulatory confirmation and require expensive laboratory equipment and specialized personnel, or they are faster but lack sensitivity. To bridge this GAP, the project introduces the ACE diagnostic platform, a portable device that can identify five major foodborne threats – salmonella, listeria, campylobacter, e. Coli, and clostridium perfringens – simultaneously and directly in the field. By integrating specialized biological capturing molecules, programmable gene-recognition technology, and custom microfluidic cartridges, this system separates the bacteria from the food sample, breaks open the bacteria, and generates an electronic readout on a smartphone application in under two hours. Beyond creating a plug-and-play tool to eliminate costly testing delays for the food industry, this initiative actively trains university graduates, updates science curricula, and mentors regional middle and high school students to inspire the next generation of biotechnology leaders.