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>> NARRATOR: The speed of science moves more quickly in today’s world thanks to partnerships
with private industry. One example of this at the College of Veterinary Medicine is a
collaboration between K-State’s Dr. Jianfa Bai and a company called Integrated Nano-Technologies,
or INT, to improve its portable, “chute-side” diagnostic technology for detecting RNA viruses.
>> DR. JIANFA BAI: In the field, it’s very difficult to detect pathogens directly; you
have to send a sample into the lab and process in the lab before you get the results. Their
device is kind of a battery-run, portable, handheld device so in the field, you collect
the sample, and you process the sample and you detect the pathogen at the same time.
>> INT’s earlier prototypes had been designed to detect bacterial pathogens such as anthrax.
The company pushed to expand their capability to use Bovine Virus Diarrhea Virus, or BVDV,
as a model for detecting RNA viruses. In 2007, the company approached the College of Veterinary
Medicine because of its expertise with BVDV.
>> DR. GARY ANDERSON: But it quickly became, Ah, this could be a great opportunity for
K-State to plug into some really interesting, cutting edge technology that is, was being
used with the Department of Defense . . . and taking it from that arena into a more practical
arena and using the animal models that we might have here at Kansas State.
>> The instrument detects pathogens by denaturing, or breaking down, the genetic material found
in collected samples. Then the material is hybridized, or reconstructed, on a specially
designed microchip. When certain genetic material builds a bridge on the chip, it creates an
electric current and allows the device to distinguish between a positive and a negative
sample. The future design of the device will have the capability to detect and differentiate
multiple pathogens.
>>To adapt this technology to detect RNA, which is more fragile than the DNA found in
bacteria, INT required the creation of an artificially designed single strand DNA that
mimics the characteristics of the BVDV -- a task that Dr. Bai’s lab was well suited
for.
>> DR. GARY ANDERSON: Instead of the days where we’re looking at whole bugs and growing
bugs, now we’re looking at snippets and small pieces of genetic material. Dr. Bai’s
an excellent expert in that area and bringing that technology to practicality can be a challenge
sometimes and this is an opportunity for him to plug into some really practical and exciting
potential opportunities.
>> The device is still being tested, but once completed, it will be useful as a portable
screening tool in remote areas without access to laboratory-based diagnostic tools. The
creation and validation of new diagnostic equipment is one of many benefits from this
collaboration.
>> DR. JIANFA BAI: We as a university, and particularly for the diagnostic lab, our main
target is to provide high quality service . . . But we do not have the capacity to do
in-depth research to develop a new technology for detection. So that’s the advantage to
collaborate with those companies. They are targeted to develop a new device or new machine
so it’s more portable or cheaper.
>> DR. GARY ANDERSON: This kind of relationship is a bit of a model for us to learn how to
work with the private sector, how to take high technology from both sides and blend
it into a very useful application. . . . It’s an opportunity to learn from them and vice
versa and if the partnership is correct, put together correctly, then everybody wins.
>> Visit the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab website to learn about these services
and research.