상명대 생물정보학 연구실

Development of rapid test kit for detection of whale blood

 The project aims to develop a rapid test kit to detect whale blood left in the field to provide scientific evidence to prevent illegal whaling.

Blood and tissue were collected from cetaceans that are frequently subjected to illegal capture and bycatch. Using bioinformatic analysis, analysis of whale blood-specific antigens and antibody design was performed. The basic design of the whale blood-specific rapid test kit was derived, and the whale blood rapid test kit was manufactured and tested. Reflecting the field situation, the developed rapid test kit was tested for whale blood detection under harsh conditions and the final prototype was produced. Review the validity of the prototype whale blood test kit and create standard guidelines. The purpose of this study is to develop a test that would be useful for the rapid detection and detection of illegal whaling in the field, such as at Korea Coast Guard Research Center and Cetacean Research Institute.

Through this research, it is expected that it would be possible to specifically detect whale bloodstains in the field, exclude unnecessary evidence, efficiently collect and analyze evidence, and also reduce the work burden on field personnel and forensic institutions due to indiscriminate evidence collection.