Emerging Point-of-care Technologies for Food Safety Analysis

Abstract

Food safety issues have recently attracted public concern. The deleterious effects of compromised food safety on health have rendered food safety analysis an approach of paramount importance. While conventional techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry have traditionally been utilized for the detection of food contaminants, they are relatively expensive, time-consuming and labor intensive, impeding their use for point-of-care (POC) applications. In addition, accessibility of these tests is limited in developing countries where food-related illnesses are prevalent. There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop simple and robust diagnostic POC devices. POC devices, including paper- and chip-based devices, are typically rapid, cost-effective and user-friendly, offering a tremendous potential for rapid food safety analysis at POC settings. Herein, we discuss the most recent advances in the development of emerging POC devices for food safety analysis. We first provide an overview of common food safety issues and the existing techniques for detecting food contaminants such as foodborne pathogens, chemicals, allergens, and toxins. The importance of rapid food safety analysis along with the beneficial use of miniaturized POC devices are subsequently reviewed. Finally, the existing challenges and future perspectives of developing the miniaturized POC devices for food safety monitoring are briefly discussed.

Keywords: chip-based devices; food safety analysis; paper-based devices; point-of-care devices.

Figure 1

Emerging paper-based point-of-care (POC) devices for food safety analysis. (A) An integrated sample-to-answer paper-based colorimetric device was developed for the colorimetric detection of E. coli in contaminated food and drinks. Adapted with permission from [14] © Royal Society of Chemistry (2016). (B) A paper-based fluorescent device coupled with fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) and MIPs was introduced for the sensitive detection of phycocyanin (PC). Adapted with permission from [49] © ACS Publications (2017). (C) A paper-based electrochemical-colorimetric hybrid device was developed for multiplexed detection of food chemicals, including lead (II), cadmium (II) and copper (II) ions. Adapted with permission from [59] © Elsevier (2016). (D) A paper-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) device was fabricated with the integration of graphene oxide (GO) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles for the detection of pesticide residues in foods. Adapted with permission from [61] © Royal Society of Chemistry (2018).

Figure 2

Emerging chip-based point-of-care (POC) devices for food safety analysis. (A) An automated chip-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for colorimetric detection of tetrabromodiphenyl ether in water. Adapted with permission from [66] © AIP Publishing (2014). (B) A chip-based fluorescent device coupled with quantum dots (Qdots), aptamer and graphene oxide (GO) was developed for sensitive detection of food allergen Ara h1 in biscuit. Adapted with permission from [68] © Elsevier (2016). (C) A chip-based electrochemical device functionalized with antibody immobilized multi-walled carbon nanotube was developed for rapid detection of clenbuterol in water. Adapted with permission from [77] © Elsevier (2016). (D) A volumetric chip was introduced for the detection of bovine catalase in milk without the requirement of any external detector. Adapted with permission from [83] © Elsevier (2016). Ag: silver; AgCl: silver chloride; IgG: immunoglobulin G; HRP: horseradish peroxidase; H₂O₂: hydrogen peroxide; O₂: oxygen.

Figure 3

Other emerging point-of-care (POC) devices for food safety analysis. (A) A thread-based colorimetric device was developed for sensitive detection of Salmonella enterica in food samples such as milk, orange juice and lettuce. Adapted with permission from [86] © Elsevier (2018). (B) A disc-based loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was developed for multiplexed fluorescent detection of foodborne pathogens, Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp. and Vibrio cholera, in chicken meat. Adapted with permission from [94] © Elsevier (2018). (C) A gold (Au) electrode coated with antibody immobilized graphene-wrapped copper oxide-cysteine hierarchical structure was introduced for sensitive electrochemical detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in food samples such as water, fruit juice and milk. Adapted with permission from [97] © Elsevier (2017). (D) A nanomaterial-based chemiluminescent device was developed for sensitive detection of Salmonella typhimurium in milk. Adapted with permission from [99] © Elsevier (2017). rGO: reduced graphene oxide; CuO: copper oxide; Zn-MNCs: Zinc-doped magnetic nanoclusters; Fe₃O₄ NP: Iron oxide nanoparticle; ATP: adenosine triphosphate; O₂: oxygen.