Clinical and subclinical mastitis have a substantial economic impact on the Australian dairy industry and pose significant risks for the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), due to the therapeutic use of antibiotics for clinical cases and the prophylactic administration of antibiotics at dry-off to manage mastitis. To tackle this challenge, we are developing a diagnostic method that is simple, sensitive, and manageable for farmers with minimal training. This method is based on a rapid, sensitive, and user-friendly lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) platform, enhanced by bright up conversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) used as fluorescent probes. These UCNPs have distinctive optical properties, including visible emission under infrared excitation, anti-photobleaching stability, minimal background noise, and superior signal-to-noise ratios. These features make them particularly well-suited for detecting low-abundance RNA biomarkers within complex biological matrices like milk and/or blood.

Led by Dr Piklu Bhattacharya, the project's long-term impact will be the market availability of a portable and simple device designed for the rapid and reliable diagnosis of the pathogen associated with both subclinical and clinical mastitis. Such assay-guided precision medication approaches will enable the implementation of selective dry cow therapy and targeted therapeutic use for mastitis-affected cows, thereby reducing the concentration of antibiotic pollutants within various interconnected farm ecosystems, which collectively contribute to the development of AMR.

Project lead

University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Partners

The University of Queensland (UQ)

Duration

Twelve months