Design for Biosecurity

ABOUT THE COURSE: Biosecurity and bioterrorism are of prominent global concern, considering their profound impact on agriculture, animal production, human health, and the economy. There is a significant thrust on designing and developing more efficient sensors to detect bioterrorism agents. The present course aims to understand sensor systems' design, architecture, and efficiency to identify these agents.INTENDED AUDIENCE: Bio-Design, Bioengineering, Chemical EngineeringPREREQUISITES: High school with scienceINDUSTRY SUPPORT: Biomedical devices, Biosensor, Biowarfare and Bioterrorism solutions

Week 1 : Challenges of biosecurity

• Agriculture Security
• Livestock production
• Human health
• Pandemics
• Bioterrorism

Week 2 : Need for economic sensors to meet the emerging threats of biosecurity

• Case study for Filoviruses (Ebola, Marburg) sensor
• Case study for Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax) sensor
• Case study of botulism toxin
• Case study of insulin

Week 3 : Design of electrochemical sensors

• Galvanic cells
• Nernst equation
• Equilibrium constant
• Cells as a chemical probe
• Concepts of E0 and E0’

Week 4 : Electrode design and printing of electrodes

• Selection of electrode materials for rapid sensing
• Bio-inspired electrode materials

Week 5 : Electrode design and printing of electrodes

• Processing of electrode materials
• Printing of electrodes
• Design challenges of electrode integration in protective technical textiles and defence gears

Week 6 : Electrodes, potentiometry

• Reference electrode
• Indicator electrode

Week 7 : Electrodes, potentiometry

• Junction potential
• Ion-selective electrode
• Solid-state chemical sensors (Fields effect transistors)

Week 8 : Redox titrations in electrochemical sensors

• Redox titration curves
• Determination of endpoints
• The oxidation state of the analyte

Week 9 : Electro-analytical methods

• Basic electrolysis
• Electro-gravimetric analysis

Week 10 : Electro-analytical methods

• Coulometry
• Amperometry
• Voltammetry

Week 11 : Designing human-on-a-chip platforms for toxin detection, neurocomputing, robotics, and rehabilitation

• Concepts of whole cell biosensors
• Neuro-technology
• Action potential shape analysis in toxin detection & role of voltage gating molecules
• Micro-electrode arrays
• Field effect transistors

Week 12 : Designing of a biosecurity facility

• Infrastructure
• Instrumentation
• Sample handling, quarantine protocols, biosafety levels, personnel safety and security
• In-house fabrication, printing, and micro-machining facility
• Data analysis & storage