Research Publications (Food Safety)

Herein an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor based on graphene aerogel (GA) for detecting metronidazole (MTZ) was proposed. The ECL behavior of the Ru(bpy)32+-doped silica nanoparticles (SiO2@Ru(bpy)32+ NPs) was investigated with MTZ as the coreactant. Quantitative detection of MTZ was realized as MTZ could effectively enhance the ECL signal of the SiO2@Ru(bpy)32+ NPs.

Assessing and monitoring the growth and response of bacteria to antibiotics is of crucial importance in research laboratories, as well as in food, environment, medical, and pharmaceutical industrial applications. In this study, Escherichia coli was chosen as the model microorganism to evaluate its response (e.g., growth) to a commercial antibiotic—tetracycline.

An efficient sample preparation method, dispersive solid-phase microextraction–dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction, coupled to gas chromatography–flame ionization detector was developed for the extraction, preconcentration, and determination of six pesticides (ametryn, penconazole, oxadiazon, diniconazole, tebuconazole, and fenoxaprop-P-ethyl) in vegetable and fruit juice samples. In this study, stearic acid–coated calcium carbonate is utilized as the sorbent.

The long-term accumulation of pesticide residues brought a huge threat to healthy lives of animals and humans. However, traditional detection methods for pesticide residues required expensive equipment and tedious operation. An electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor based on nano-antimony tin oxide and titanium dioxide composites (ATO@TiO2) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for rapid detection of malathion residues had been developed to solve the above problems.

The neomycin residues in milk could pose potential hazard for human health, and now, immunoassays are widely used for on-site screening of neomycin and other food contaminate residues. In this paper, the neomycin B was conjugated with carrier protein as immunogens, and a highly specific antibody was produced.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is considered as one of the most hazardous mycotoxins commonly occurring in grains. Thus, the monitoring of OTA is extremely significant. Herein, a synergistic strategy to detect OTA in grains based on the combination of DNA tetrahedron-structured aptamer (DTA) and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) was proposed. Briefly, DTA was assembled on the gold electrode.

A novel sensitive method for simultaneous determination of 19 antibiotics and 19 anthelmintics in edible fungi using QuEChERS-UHPLC-MS/MS method was established. For every 10.0 g sample, 20 mL of acetonitrile with 2% acetic acid and 1.2 g sodium acetate were used for extraction, followed by 6.0 g anhydrous MgSO4 for dehydration, and 50 mg anhydrous MgSO4+10 mg PSA for purification.

Abstract

Using a recently developed genetically modified microorganisms (GMM) detection strategy, unexpected contaminations of unauthorized GMM in commercialized microbial fermentation products have been reported. A first-line real-time PCR screening analysis was initially performed to determine the presence of key targets frequently found in genetically modified (GM) bacteria.

In this study, a multi-component analytical method for the detection of pesticide residues in paprika by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was developed and validated. The sample preparation is based on an extraction step with acetonitrile followed by a cleanup step using dispersive solid-phase extraction.

The tuna fish processing industry produces more than 50% of waste and by-products (scales, head, viscera, etc.) that are usually discarded or used to produce low added value products such as fish meals. However, these waste materials still contain molecules essential for the human diet, such as essential metals, vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids, and proteins of high nutritional value.

In recent years, food safety issues have become more serious, which caused extensive study on various methods for detecting food hazards. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have drawn significant attention in nanoscience for the construction of biosensors because of their good biocompatibility, excellent quenching effect, unique surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties, and high surface-to-volume ratio.

In this paper, the efficient magnetic dummy molecular imprinted polymers were firstly synthesized by dummy template (raffinose). The dummy molecularly imprinted layer was polymerized on the surface of Fe3O4 nanoparticles modified with NH2 group. The micromorphology and chemical composites of prepared polymers were detailed characterized.

3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) monoesters are a form of 3-MCPD esters known as potential food contaminant that may occur in a variety of food samples. A dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) was developed to provide clean-up and pre-concentration in the determination of 1-palmitoyl-3-MCPD and 1-oleoyl-3-MCPD prior to gas chromatography-flame ionization detector analysis (GC-FID).

A cold-induced-homogeneous liquid–liquid extraction method combined with deep eutectic solvent-based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction has been done to extract several endocrine disrupting compounds (phenol, p-chlorophenol, p-nitrophenol, octylphenol, methyl paraben, ethyl paraben, butyl paraben, and bisphenol A) and hydroxymethylfurfural from honey samples before their determination by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.

Injudicious and ever-increasing use of pesticides has made consumers more aware and critical about quality control and quality assurance in fruits and vegetables. Presence of pesticide residues in food commodities is one of the most indispensable parameters in quality control and quality assurance. To meet out the demand of acceptable or no residues in crops, different agencies viz. Codex Alimentarius Commission, European Union, FSSAI etc.

Abstract

A simple, rapid, and efficient liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method, operated in electrospray ionization (ESI) and quadrupole linear ion trap modes, has been developed for the identification and structural characterization of zearalenone (ZEN) in corn oil. Samples (5 g) were extracted with acetonitrile/water (80:20, v/v).

Fumonisins are mycotoxins and corn has been considered the foodstuff presenting the highest contamination levels by these compounds. In recent years, the presence of hidden fumonisins in corn and corn products has aroused the interest of public health authorities.

As a novel detection method of CuSO4, terahertz (THz) spectroscopy detection has great application prospects, but the terahertz detection with the tablet method has low sensitivity, and with the metamaterials has complicated manufacture. This work has proposed a high-sensitivity pesticide THz spectroscopic detection method with a novel metal grating. The metal grating was composed of a circular hole array.

A β-cyclodextrin functionalised graphene oxide-grafted silica (β-CD@GO/SiO2) sorbent was synthesised and used as a solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbent for the extraction of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from fried food extract. The prepared β-CD@GO/SiO2 was characterised using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and elemental analysis (EA).

Food is intricate, and food quality and safety are indispensable elements. With the rising public demands for safe and nutritious food products, a range of innovative, interdisciplinary, and multidimensional concepts have emerged in the last few decades. Nanozymes, apart from their therapeutic efficacies, are gaining increasing interest in safety and quality monitoring in the agri-food sector.

Tomato is well-known to be one of the most cultivated and consumed vegetables worldwide and frequently contain pesticide residues. Therefore, a simple multiresidue method was established and validated to determine 129 pesticides and metabolites in tomato samples using a modified acetate QuEChERS without cleanup for sample preparation and determination by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS).

A simple, rapid, and accurate method for determination of selenocystine (SeCys2), methyl selenocysteine (MeSeCys), selenourea (SeUr), selenite (Se(IV)), selenotmethionine (SeMet), and selenate (Se(VI)) in grain crops was developed, based on the coupling of ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-RP-HPLC) and ultraviolet irradiation hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (UV-HG-AFS). The conditions of IP-RP-HPLC-UV-HG -AFS were studied.

Indonesian coconut sugar (n = 109 samples) from different local producers was analyzed over a 2-year period. A mean δ13C value of − 25.6‰ ± 0.4‰ was determined for unadulterated (pure) coconut sugar. Seasonal climatic differences of up to ± 0.4‰ increase the standard deviations of coconut sugar (− 25.6‰ ± 0.8‰). Up to 5% w/v of cane sugar is often added during production for seeding purposes which could increase the final coconut sugar δ13C values by up to 0.7‰.