AptAbt Aptamer-based antibiotic biosensor for ensuring food safety

Antibiotics are a cornerstone of modern medicine, yet their misuse is causing a public health crisis.

Many remain unaware that antibiotics exist not only in healthcare but also in daily diets, invading our bodies through the food chain.

Modern intensive farming is the hidden source.

To prevent disease and promote growth, global annual antibiotic use in livestock is staggering, rivaling or exceeding medical use, turning milk, meat, and other foods into residue carriers and creating widespread exposure.

The true threat of low-dose antibiotics in food lies in their cumulative and hidden nature.

Long-term intake breeds "superbugs," rendering drugs ineffective.

WHO warns that antimicrobial resistance is a major global health threat, especially endangering children by disrupting gut microbiota and development.

To tackle this, we urgently need efficient food safety defenses.

Conventional detection is costly, complex, and time-consuming, hindering broad use.

Thus, our iGEM team uses synthetic biology to develop a rapid, sensitive, and easy aptamer-based biosensor to detect antibiotic residues.

From the lab to farms and supermarkets, AptAbt ensures antibiotics have nowhere to hide, safeguarding your food safety every step of the way.