A new test developed at Kansas State University could help dairy producers identify the livestock disease mastitis in dairy cows earlier.

Deryl Troyer, professor of anatomy and physiology, is leading a project with Stefan Bossmann, professor of chemistry, that uses nanotechnology to positively identify mastitis in dairy cattle earlier and costs less than current technologies on the market.

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Mastitis identification test can help dairy producers catch the costly livestock disease faster

Mastitis is a livestock disease that inflames and eventually scars the udder tissue of dairy cows, reducing milk production and altering milk composition. It costs the U.S. dairy industry more than $2 billion annually in losses, K-State said.

The classical mastitis tests estimate how many neutrophil cells, not the activity of the cells. These cells travel to the inflamed udder during mastitis.

"Many times early and emerging cases of mastitis are not caught by the tests because they count the numbers rather than the activity," Troyer said. "These are often the most important cases to catch."

Better mastitis treatment, less transmission
Early detection will help dairy producers better treat cows with emerging cases of mastitis as well as reduce transmission to other cows in the dairy operation.

The project uses nanoplatform technology that can quickly detect cancer cells and tumors before physical symptoms ever appear. Researchers say that the test easily translated detection of the livestock disease because several of the enzymes that cause inflammation in human cancers also cause inflammation in the udder of the dairy cows.

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"We looked at about 30 enzymes and identified three that are highly indicative of mastitis," Bossmann said. "These three enzymes and this nanoplatform make it possible to detect preclinical mastitis cases that have high enzymatic activity but a low somatic cell count. These cases have previously been undiscoverable, so there is not a test on the market for this combination."

How the new subclinical mastitis test works >>

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How the nanoplatform test works
To test for mastitis, a sample of pasteurized milk is put into a buffer solution containing the enzyme-detecting nanoplatform.

The nanoplatform consists of iron nanoparticles coated with amino acids and a fluorescent dye. The amino acids and dye interact with enzymes in the milk. The sample is incubated for up to 30 minutes and then examined for three enzymes that cause mastitis.

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Recent tests in the Troyer and Bossmann laboratories have detected subclinical mastitis in less than five minutes.

Researchers say their mastitis test could be used today by large-scale dairies and eventually by robotic dairy facilities. Researchers hope to make the test a more viable option for individual and smallholder dairy operations through more development.

Source: K-State