Building capacity for the rapid detection of lead in bovine blood and milk

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The PADLS New Bolton Center Toxicology Laboratory proposes to investigate the ability to validate the use of the LeadCare II blood lead analyzer for the rapid, accurate measurement of lead in bovine blood by performing a comparison study utilizing inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The LeadCare II analyzer is a small benchtop instrument that uses anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) to quantify the amount of lead present in a patient?s blood. With an analysis time of only three minutes, the LeadCare II can be utilized as a point of care system in veterinary medicine when herd exposures to lead are suspected. Other lead analysis methods, including ICP-MS, can have turnaround times of days instead of hours. While waiting for results, definite animal treatment may be delayed, prolonging animal distress and suffering, and producers may be forced to hold or discard milk, resulting in economic hardship. As an example, to evaluate blood samples from a 30-head herd of cattle might currently require as many as three full 8-hour workdays using ICP-MS, while the same samples could be resulted within 2 hours using the LeadCare II analyzer. The study will also evaluate the LeadCare II analyzer for its ability to detect lead in bovine milk. The LeadCare II has the potential to rapidly decrease testing times when large numbers of animal blood and milk samples need to be rapidly screened in the event of a known or suspected exposure to lead. We are confident in our ability to continue to support Vet-LIRN in this project due to our present qualifications and experience and a proven history of successful Vet-LIRN collaborations through both the infrastructure and method development grant programs.