FOOD CONTAMINATION IN PROCESSING FACILITIES CAN LEAD TO SERIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEMS AS WELL AS COSTLY RECALLS OF MILLIONS OF FOOD UNITS. SALMONELLA BACTERIA ARE THE MOST FREQUENTLY REPORTED CAUSE OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS. CURRENTLY, RAPID SENSING TECHNOLOGY IS LACKING FOR DEFINITIVE DETECTION OF SALMONELLA IN FOOD-PROCESSING PLANTS, WHICH DELAYS INITIATION OF APPROPRIATE CONTROL MEASURES AND INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF SPREADING CONTAMINATION AND FOODBORNE ILLNESSES TO CONSUMERS. THE RESEARCH GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO CREATE A USER-FRIENDLY BIOSENSOR CAPABLE OF RAPID (APPROXIMATELY 20 MIN), LOW-COST (LESS THAN $3), NO BACTERIA GROWTH REQUIREMENT PRIOR TO DETECTION OF FOODBORNE PATHOGENS, SALMONELLA, IN FOOD PROCESSING FACILITIES AT LEVELS COMPARABLE TO IF NOT BETTER THAN CURRENT CULTURE AND DNA BASED METHODS (DETECTION LIMITS OF APPROXIMATELY 5 PATHOGENS PER ML) FOR SALMONELLA. THE TECHNICAL MERIT OF THIS PROPOSAL LIES IN THE ABILITY TO AVOID BACTERIA GROWTH PRIOR TO DETECTION, WHILE STILL SENSITIVELY AND SELECTIVELY DETECTING SALMONELLA SPECIES WITHIN 20 MIN COMPARED TO THE CURRENT 24-48 H. THE DEVICE USES A TESTING CARTRIDGE TO BRING BACTERIA DIRECTLY TO A MICROCHIP DETECTION SURFACE, WHICH CONSISTS OF LASER-INDUCED GRAPHENE ON A SUBSTRATE (I.E., POLYMER), AND SUBSEQUENTLY FUNCTIONALIZED WITH SALMONELLA-SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES. UNIQUE LASER PROCESSING INDUCES A 3D STRUCTURED SURFACE AT THE NANOSCALE LEVEL IN GRAPHENE THAT BECOMES HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE FOR BIOSENSING AND ONE THAT ATTRACTS WATER (I.E., SUPERHYDROPHOBIC), WHICH ARE DESIRABLE PROPERTIES FOR ENABLING LOW DETECTION LIMITS AND INCREASING TEST SENSITIVITY. THESE TECHNOLOGIES CAN BE COMBINED INTO A PORTABLE PLATFORM TO MAKE A USER-FRIENDLY HANDHELD BIOSENSOR, FOR DISPLAYING QUANTITATIVE COUNTS OF BACTERIA. THE INTEGRATED PLATFORM WILL BE DESIGNED TO INTERFACE WITH EXISTING PORTABLE ELECTRICAL READERS IN MUCH THE SAME FASHION THAT DIABETICS MONITOR BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS AT HOME. NUMEROUS COMPLETED BIOSENSORS WILLBE CREATED AND PLACED IN A FOOD PROCESSING FACILITY, WHILE RESULTANT DATA WILL BE STREAMED TO THE INTERNET TO CREATE A NETWORK OF PATHOGEN DETECTING BIOSENSORS. THIS NETWORK WILL PERMIT THE SIMULTANEOUS MONITORING OF PATHOGENS THROUGHOUT AN ENTIRE FOOD PROCESSING FACILITY, SO THAT SANITATION CORRECTIONS CAN BE MADE BEFORE FOOD PRODUCT IS COMPROMISED. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL HELP ENSURE FOODBORNE PATHOGEN CONTAMINATION IS REDUCED/CONTROLLED IN FOOD PROCESSING FACILITIES AND WILL HELP PREVENT PATHOGEN CONTAMINATED FOOD FROM ENTERING THE MARKET. THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF SUCH TECHNOLOGY ARE CONSIDERED TREMENDOUS AS SALMONELLA INFECTIONS ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR AN APPROXIMATELY 1.6 MILLION FOODBORNE ILLNESSES A YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES, THE MOST COMMON CULPRIT OF FOODBORNE ILLNESSES.