Process-based contaminants in food—particularly in vegetable oils—have been a topic of interest due to their potential health risk on humans. Oral consumption above the tolerable daily intake might result in health risks. Therefore, it is critical to correctly address the food contaminant issues with a proper mitigation plan, in order to reduce and subsequently remove the occurrence of the contaminant. 3-monochloropropane-1,3-diol (3-MCPD), an organic chemical compound, is one of the heat- and process-induced food contaminants, belonging to a group called chloropropanols. This review paper discusses the occurrence of the 3-MCPD food contaminant in different types of vegetable oils, possible 3-MCPD formation routes, and also methods of reduction or removal of 3-MCPD in its free and bound esterified forms in vegetable oils, mostly in palm oil due to its highest 3-MCPD content.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has allowed enormous advancement in technology and material development; thus, it requires attention in developing functionalized printed materials. AM can assist in efficiently manufacturing complex tailored electrodes for electrochemical sensing in the food industry. Herein, we used a commercial fused deposition modeling (FDM) filament of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) for FDM 3D printing of a self-designed electrode with minimal time and cost compared to a commercial electrode. A graphene-based ABS conductive filament (ABS-G) was used to fabricate the conductive electrode in a dual-nozzle FDM 3D printer. The electrochemically conductive 3D printed electrode was characterized using cyclic voltammetry and tested against standard 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) with known concentrations using an amperometric detection method. Results showed a basis for promising application to detect and quantify 3-MCPD, a food contaminant known for its carcinogenic potential. The fabrication of functionalized 3D printed polymer electrodes paves way for the development of complete 3D printable electrochemical sensors. Under optimal conditions, this newly synthesized electrochemical sensor exhibited sensitivity with a linear response range from 6.61 × 10−4 to 2.30 × 10−3 µg/mL with an estimated limit of detection of 3.30 × 10−4 µg/mL against 3-MCPD.

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Contamination of drinking water by hazardous agents is becoming a serious global threat, so it is necessary to develop more efficient sensing technologies for applications in liquid media. The limited working lifetime of electrochemical biosensors, especially when measurements are made continuously in liquid media, remains an unsolved challenge. We studied the effect of PEDOT:PSS surface area on platinum microelectrodes with respect to electrode ability to conduct reversible ion-to-electron transduction in liquid media. Electropolymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene:poly(styrene sulfonate) EDOT:PSS to poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was conducted on microplatinum electrodes 5 and 10 mm long using a galvanostatic mode. Cyclic voltammetry was used to determine capacitive peak current; higher peak current indicates higher redox capacitance. Field-emisison scanning-electron microscopy was used to study the surface morphology of the PEDOT:PSS transucer layer after measurement in liquid media. The anodic capacitive peak currents did not differ significantly between the two electrodes at day one (~0.20 mA); however, peak current decreased by ~ 20% and ~ 80% at day six for 10- and-5 mm electrode lengths, respectively. The results imply that PEDOT:PSS surface area plays a role in transduction of PEDOT:PSS in aqueous media.