Detecting Chemical Hazards in Foods Using Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Devices (μPADs): The Real-World Application

Abstract

Food safety remains one of the most important issues in most countries and the detection of food hazards plays a key role in the systematic approach to ensuring food safety. Rapid, easy-to-use and low-cost analytical tools are required to detect chemical hazards in foods. As a promising candidate, microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) have been rarely applied to real food samples for testing chemical hazards, although numerous papers have been published in this field in the last decade. This review discusses the current status and concerns of the μPAD applications in the detection of chemical hazards in foods from the perspective of food scientists, mainly for an audience with a background in mechanical and chemical engineering who may have interests in exploring the potential of μPAD to address real-world food safety issues.

Keywords: chemical hazard; food contamination; food safety; sample preparation; μPADs.

Figure 1

Representative μPAD applications. (A) Bidirectional lateral flow bioactive paper sensor. Adapted with permission from Reference [34]. Copyright 2009 American Chemical Society. (B) Scanning electron microscope photos of native chromatograph paper (top) and molecularly imprinted polymer coated chemiluminescence device. Adapted with permission from Reference [36]. (C) Alkylsilane self-assembling and UV/O₃-patterning fabricated nitrite assay based on Griess reaction. Reprinted with permission from reference [39]. Copyright 2013 American Chemical Society. (D) Electrochemical and colorimetric dual sensor for simultaneous determination of lead, cadmium and copper. Reprinted with permission from reference [40].