Professor Shahir Rizk and his students have developed a biosensor for the herbicide glyphosate (RoundUp). This work, which started in the research-based biochemistry lab course (CHEM-C 486) taken by all of our biochemistry majors, was followed up by two IU South Bend students who are now at PhD programs at UNC-Chapel Hill and Notre Dame. A patent application was filed back in the summer of 2019. Read more about Rizk's research and patent here.
Glyphosate is a very simple molecule - almost just the combination of glycine (the smallest amino acid) and a phosphate group. It is a very widely-use herbicide and owes part of its success to the genetic engineering of glyphosate-resistant crops so that the herbicide attacks only the weeds. However, in recent years, glyphosate has been classified as a probable human carcinogen.
