Research Publications (Food Safety)

This study investigated the influence of a protease from Staphylococcus (S.) epidermidis on the hydrolysis and flavor development in pork myofibrillar protein (MP).

Oilseed crops are greatly extended all over the world. Their high fat content can interfere during pesticide multiresidue analysis through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This work aimed at overcoming this issue by developing and validating two QuEChERS-based methods for LC-MS/MS determination of 42 pesticides in two fatty food matrices: olives and sunflower seeds.

The peroxide value (PV) is an important indicator to assess quality of edible oils. However, traditional methods for determining PV are complicated for operating and lack sensitivity. In this paper, we report a fast, reusable, selective and sensitive room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP)-based sensor to determine the PV of edible oils. The sensor comprises a lead-based metal–organic framework (Pb-MOF, Pb4O(TPA)3, TPA: (terephthalic acid).

An electrochemical aptasensing strategy was developed with a novel bioplatform based on a multivariate titanium metal–organic framework, i.e. MTV polyMOF(Ti), to detect zearalenone (ZEN). MTV polyMOF(Ti) was prepared by using mixed linkers of polyether polymer (pbdc-xa or L8, pbdc = poly(1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H2bdc or L0) as well as tetrabutyl titanate as nodes (MTV polyMOF(Ti)-L8,0).

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and tungsten disulfide nanosheets (WS2 NTs) have been widely studied in photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry as representative electron donor–acceptor pairs but rarely in fluorescence sensing. In this study, we investigated the effect of WS2 NTs on the fluorescence signal of cadmium telluride (CdTe) QDs by grafting an aptamer as a bridge between them.

This work reports a sensitive and accurate multimode detection method to detect Salmonella typhimurium using inherent color, photothermal and catalytic properties of Prussian blue@gold nanoparticles (PB@Au). The inherent color of PB@Au can realize direct visual detection while the temperature increase (ΔT) of it can realize sensitive and quantitative photothermal detection. Moreover, catalytic coloration detection is applied to further amplify detection signal.

In the present study, QuEChERS method was optimized and validated for determination of 260 pesticides by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The method had a suitable linearity (R2 ≥ 0.99). Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were ranged from 0.56 to 2.99 µg kg−1 and 1.88 to 9.99 µg kg−1 respectively. Average recoveries varied from 71.14% to 118.83%.

Powdered Pleurotus ostreatus (PO) was tested for the detoxification of ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZEN) through in vitro gastrointestinal digestion in the absence and presence of ground feed and cornmeal. Ochratoxin α was detected in the chromatograms after OTA elimination, suggesting the presence of an OTA-hydrolytic enzyme in the PO, whereas ZEN was adsorbed by PO.

In this study, an electrochemical aptasensor for sensitive detection of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was fabricated by electrodepositing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the glass carbon electrode (GCE) modified with zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8). The high specific surface area of AuNPs/ZIF-8 nanocomposite increased the aptamers loading on the electrode surface.

A method using isotope dilution-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC/MS/MS) was developed for the accurate determination of zearalenone (ZEN) and its five major metabolites in corn. 13C- or 2H-labeled analogues of the target mycotoxins were used as internal standards.

Pesticides are indispensably essential in agricultural practices. Traditional pesticides and environmentally friendly pesticides both are used to control the damage caused by pests and diseases. Conventional procedures were carried out to detect pesticide residues using chromatography and spectrophotometric techniques.

A portable near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer coupled with chemometrics for the detection of fumonisin B1 and B2 (FBs) in ground corn samples was proposed in the present work. A total of 173 corn samples were collected, and their FB contents were determined by HPLC–MS/MS. Partial least squares (PLS), support vector machine (SVM) and local PLS based on global PLS score (LPLS-S) algorithms were employed to construct quantitative models.

An Ag@C hybrid bipolar electrode (BPE) sensing platform has been established for the temporal detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in food. Combining the advantages of anodic dissolution of Ag and cathodic biocatalysis of oxygen (O2) reduction, this strategy showed an ultralow detection limit down to 10 CFU mL−1.

We present an easy-to-use lateral flow immunoassay for rapid, precise and sensitive quantification of one of the most hazardous mycotoxins – ochratoxin A (OTA), which is widely present in food and agricultural commodities. The achieved limit of detection during the 20-min OTA registration is 11 pg/mL. The assay provides accurate results in both low- and high-concentration ranges.

A turn-on fluorescent sensing platform based on an ultralow concentration of Al-metal organic frameworks for the detection of aflatoxin B1 has been developed for the first time. This fluorescence turn-on sensor exhibits the largest fluorescence enhancement (or quenching) constant value of 179404 M-1 among all luminescence-based chemical sensors reported till date.

Enzymatic acylation of anthocyanin with fatty acid improves its lipophilic solubility and application potential. Nevertheless, evaluation of functional properties of product is premise for application. This study investigated the antimicrobial potential and the underlying mechanisms of an acylated anthocyanin, namely, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside–lauric acid ester (C3G-LA), to provide guidelines for its application.

Development of efficient and sensitive adsorbent for capturing phenoxy carboxylic acids (PCAs) from environmental and food samples is necessary because PCAs could threaten human health. Designing nanoparticle with multiple functional groups is beneficial to achieve the strong adsorption interaction and the specific recognition for target compound.

More and more attention has been paid to the improved QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) method in dealing complex sample matrices, especially for the study of QuEChERS adsorbents.

The dynamics mechanisms regulating the growth and AFB1 production of Aspergillus flavus during its interactions with maize kernels remain unclear. In this study, shortwave infrared hyperspectral imaging (SWIR-HSI) and synchrotron radiation Fourier transform infrared (SR-FTIR) microspectroscopy were combined to investigate chemical and spatial-temporal changes in incremental damaged maize kernels induced by A.

In this work, a novel and credible electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) was constructed for the ultrasensitive and highly selective detection of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). Amino-functionalized 3D graphene hydrogel (NGH) served as the ECL platform with the self-enhanced ECL of luminol–palladium–graphene oxide (lum–Pd–GO) acting as a marker for the antibodies against AFB1.

In this study, a polydopamine modified nanofibers membrane (PDA-PS NFsM) was prepared and evaluated as the adsorbent for simultaneous removal of a variety of aflatoxins in various liquid foods, including edible oil, soy sauce and milk, rice vinegar and liquor. The removal efficiency for every single aflatoxin from all samples involved above was more than 76.5% within 1 h at 25 °C, except the liquors with higher ethanol content, for which the efficiency was lower.

Pesticide residues will be a huge threat to food security and ecological environment; therefore, there is an urgent need to achieve rapid and on-site detection of pesticide residues. Herein, a plasmonic substrate with multiple “hot spots” was fabricated by transferring three-dimensional (3D) Au nanoparticles (NPs) onto the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane for highly sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection of pesticide residues.

Synergistic antibacterial effect is a promising way to overcome the challenge of microbial contamination in food. In this study, we detected the synergistic interactions of nisin and carvacrol. The MIC of nisin and carvacrol against S. aureus were 60 and 125 μg/mL, respectively. The FICI and FBCI were 0.28125 and 0.09375, which suggested that the nisin/carvacrol combination presented synergistic antibacterial effect against S. aureus.

A simple, rapid, and sensitive method was developed for simultaneous determination of 103 multiclass pesticides in edible oils. A new strategy of sample preparation involving a spontaneous emulsification followed by membrane-based demulsification was proposed. The developed strategy was compared with other reputed clean-up procedures and found to improve the removal efficiency of matrix interferences without a significant loss of pesticides.

Quantitative, rapid, selective and sensitive methods for the determination of total arsenic (tAs) and six arsenic compounds (arsenite (As(III)), arsenate (As(V)), arsenobetaine (AsB), arsenocholine (AsC), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsonic acid (DMA)) in seafood were developed. The measurement of the tAs concentration was performed using quadrupole inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Microwave-assisted extraction was used for the isolation of arsenic species.