Emerging Electrochemical Sensors for Real-Time Detection of Tetracyclines in Milk

Abstract

Antimicrobial drug residues in food are strictly controlled and monitored by national laws in most territories. Tetracyclines are a major broad-spectrum antibiotic class, active against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and they are the leading choice for the treatment of many conditions in veterinary medicine in recent years. In dairy farms, milk from cows being treated with antibiotic drugs, such as tetracyclines, is considered unfit for human consumption. Contamination of the farm bulk tank with milk containing these residues presents a threat to confidence of supply and results in financial losses to farmers and dairy. Real-time monitoring of milk production for antimicrobial residues could reduce this risk and help to minimise the release of residues into the environment where they can cause reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance. In this article, we review the existing literature for the detection of tetracyclines in cow’s milk. Firstly, the complex nature of the milk matrix is described, and the test strategies in commercial use are outlined. Following this, emerging biosensors in the low-cost biosensors field are contrasted against each other, focusing upon electrochemical biosensors. Existing commercial tests that identify antimicrobial residues within milk are largely limited to beta-lactam detection, or non-specific detection of microbial inhibition, with tests specific to tetracycline residues less prevalent. Herein, we review a number of emerging electrochemical biosensor detection strategies for tetracyclines, which have the potential to close this gap and address the industry challenges associated with existing tests.

Electrochemical Biosensors for the Detection of Antibiotics in Milk: Recent Trends and Future Perspectives

“…Other electroanalytical techniques, such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and chronoamperometry (CA), have also gained popularity for antibiotic detection. The principles of electrochemical sensors, a schematic for electrochemical biosensor detection methods, and examples of electrochemical transduction signals (potentiometric, amperometric, conductimetric and impedimetric signals) are presented in Figure 3 [ 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 ]. We recently reported detailed information on a variety of electroanalytical techniques in another publication [ 71 ].…”

Development of a Lateral-Flow Immunochromatographic Strip for the Detection of Oxytetracycline Residues in Biological Fluids

“…The use of animal food products containing OTC residues by humans may also cause health hazards to humans such as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, allergic reactions, and toxicity. 5,6 To avoid economic losses and health hazards, different regulatory authorities set the maximum residue limit (MRL) for OTC residues in milk. For OTC, the European Union (EU) set the MRL value at 0.1 mg/L (100 μg/L).…”

“…OTC residues in milk may inhibit the growth of bacteria present in milk, which are responsible for the production of yogurt and cheese, causing economic losses. The use of animal food products containing OTC residues by humans may also cause health hazards to humans such as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, allergic reactions, and toxicity. , …”

“…The use of animal food products containing OTC residues by humans may also cause health hazards to humans such as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, allergic reactions, and toxicity. 5 , 6 …”

A Review on Carbon‐based Electrodes for Electrochemical Sensor of Quinolone Antibiotics

“…[23][24][25][26] Herein, we review the use of carbon-based electrodes for quinolone antibiotics detection. Even though there are several reviews on antibiotic detection, such as analysis of antibiotic focusing in milk sample [27,28] and also various reports on the analysis using electrochemical method, [29][30][31] to the best of our knowledge, this is the very first review on the detection of antibiotics focusing on the use of carbon-based electrodes only. We divide this review into several sections, namely detection on bare carbon-based electrodes, bio-modified carbon-based electrodes, and non-bio-modified carbon-based electrodes.…”