Bioactive paper that can detect and ward off life-threatening bacteria and viruses is
one step closer to being brought to market today.

The network developing the paper, which can sense pathogens such as E. coli and
SARS, has received $7.5 million from the federal government to help bring its products
to market.

The investment in the NSERC-Sentinel Bioactive Paper Strategic Network, led by
McMaster University, was announced today by Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science
and Technology). He was joined by Suzanne Fortier, president of the Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), at an event in Burnaby, BC to
award funds from the Strategic Network Grants Program.

“This funding will help us transition several research developments in bioactive paper
into marketable products,” said Robert Pelton, scientific director of Sentinel and
professor of chemical engineering at McMaster. “This paper has generated enormous
interest and Sentinel is working with industry partners towards pilot-scale production
of the sensors.”

Bioactive paper uses chemical or biological impregnated paper to provide fast, easy
and inexpensive detection of pathogens and/or toxins in food, water and air.

John Brennan, professor of bioanalytical chemistry at McMaster, has developed a toxin-
detecting dipstick that can be used in the field to identify banned organophosphates in
insecticides and herbicides used on agricultural crops in some developing countries.
Currently, it can take several days to ship crop samples to labs for testing by which
time the product can be on its way to grocery store shelves.

The Sentinel Bioactive Paper Network includes 28 researchers from 10 universities and
five industrial partners, working in partnership with NSERC, the National Research
Council and Ontario Centres of Excellence. More than 50 graduate students,
postdoctoral fellows and undergraduate students are involved in Sentinel research.

Strategic Network Grants fund large-scale, multidisciplinary research projects in
targeted research areas that require a network approach and involve collaboration
between academic researchers and Canadian-based organizations. The program seeks
applicants who are established researchers with a solid track record in collaborative
research, student training and grants management, and who demonstrate the
leadership and other skills necessary for managing a complex, interdisciplinary, multi-
institutional project.