Nanomaterial-based fluorescent biosensor for veterinary drug detection in foods

Abstract

Veterinary drugs have been widely used in the food industry. Their residues in food products need to be tightly regulated to ensure food safety. In particular, some veterinary drugs are still used illegally, although they have already been banned. Nanomaterials are playing an increasingly important role in analytical chemistry due to their unique properties. Compared to traditional organic dyes and colloidal gold nanoparticle labels, fluorescent nanomaterials appear particularly attractive for the detection of veterinary drug residues. This review summarizes recent advancements of fluorescent biosensors using nanomaterials for the detection of veterinary drug residues in foods. The useful properties of each type of fluorescent nanomaterial are first discussed such as large Stokes shifts, long emission lifetime, and high quantum yields, which are useful for detection in food-related sample matrix. The following target recognition molecules are then reviewed individually including antibodies, aptamers, molecularly imprinted polymers, and metal ion coordination based ligands. Representative bioconjugation and assay methods are discussed for each recognition mechanism. Finally, a few future research directions are outlined in the last section of this review.

Grand Challenges in Analytical Science

“…They may provide enough sensitivity for detection of food contaminants, but problems are usually raised when the matrix is complex. To further improve sensitivity, nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, and gold nanoclusters have been used to ensure food safety (Han et al, 2020;Tao et al, 2020). When new or unknown pesticides, insecticides, or bacterial variants are present, standard approaches usually do not work.…”

Luminescent Aptamer-Based Bioassays for Sensitive Detection of Food Allergens

“…Biosensors are a promising approach, since they combine the high selectivity of biorecognition elements, either natural (e.g., antibodies) or synthetic (e.g., aptamers or imprinted polymers), with simple preanalytical and analytical procedures [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Portable biosensors are ideal for food safety applications, as attested by several works reported in the literature for the detection of pathogens [ 8 , 9 ], toxins [ 10 , 11 ], pesticides and veterinary drug residues [ 12 , 13 ], organic pollutants [ 14 , 15 ], and allergens [ 16 ].…”

Microfluidic fluorescent platform for rapid and visual detection of veterinary drugs

“… 22 In recent years, QDs have attracted extensive attention and greatly promoted the development of fluorescence immunoassay. 23 In particular, it was found that QDs modified with different surface functional groups exhibited photoluminescence or chemiluminescence response to external stimulation, indicating their excellent sensing potential. 24 Fluorescence correlation detection technology is becoming high-profile and also show prospects in the field of veterinary drug residue detection.…”