**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP AN ELECTROCHEMICAL APTAMER-BASED (E-AB) SENSORS THAT CAN ACHIEVE SIMULTANEOUS, IN-PLANT DETECTION OF VETERINARY DRUGS IN ANIMAL CARCASSES TO INCREASE THE ACCURACY, EFFICIENCY, AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF VETERINARY DRUG SCREENING, AND THEREBY 'IMPROVE FOOD SAFETY' AND PROTECT CONSUMERS. VETERINARY DRUGS RESIDUES IN MEAT PRODUCTS CAN CAUSE VARIOUS ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS, AND SUCH RESIDUES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAJORITY OF CHEMICAL RESIDUE VIOLATIONS IN ANIMAL CARCASSES IN THE UNITED STATES. THUS, THE IN-PLANT SCREENING OF VETERINARY DRUG RESIDUES IN ANIMAL CARCASSES IS VITAL FOR PREVENTING CONTAMINATED MEAT FROM ENTERING THE MARKET. THE CURRENT IN PLANT SCREENNING TEST EMPLOYED BY USDA CAN ONLY DETECT ANTIBIOTICS AND HAS A HIGH RATE OF FALSE POSITIVE AND FALSE NEGATIVES. WE HERE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP E-AB SENSORS THAT CAN RAPIDLY DETECT BOTH ANTIBIOTICS AND NON-ANTIBIOTIC DRUGS WITH A NEAR-ZERO PROBABILITY OF FALSE POSITIVES OR NEGATIVES. AS PROOF-OF-CONCEPT, WE WILL FIRST ISOLATE TWO NEW HIGH-AFFINITY DNA APTAMERS (ARTIFICIAL NUCLEIC-ACID-BASED BIORECEPTORS): ONE THAT IS HIGHLY SPECIFIC FOR THE ANTI-INFLAMATORY DRUG FLUNIXIN AND ANOTHER THAT CAN BROADLY RECOGNIZE BETA-LACTAM ANTIBIOTICS. THE ISOLATED APTAMERS WILL THEN BE USED TO FABRICATE REUSABLE E-AB SENSORS CAPABLE OF SIMULTANEOUS SCREENING OF PART-PER-BILLION FLUNIXIN AND BETA-LACTAMS IN ANIMAL CARCASSES WITHIN SECONDS. THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH THE TECHNOLOGIES NECESSARY FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY DETECTING ALL FEDERALLY-REGULATED CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN A SINGLE SAMPLE IN-PLANT, THUS BRINGING ANALYSIS FROM THE LAB INTO THE FIELD. SUCH SCREENING TOOLS WILL GREATLY IMPROVE THE ACCURACY AND EFFICIENCY OF FOOD INSPECTION AND IMPROVE FOOD SAFETY.