OWLS Based Nanosensors for Agro-Environmental and Food Safety

Abstract

With globalized trade of food commodities, food safety and related environmental safety issues have become a central concern not only at national/regional levels, but all over the world. Consumers are concerned about food-borne pathogens and their toxic substances, including mycotoxins, as well as chemicals, including residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs. Environmental pollution may also lead to contamination of food/feed commodities grown in affected land. For the quick and reliable detection of hazardous substances, new types of sensors based on evanescent wave optical techniques on the rise to detect food-borne contaminants. Our results, obtained by Optical Waveguide Lightmode Spectroscopy (OWLS) based label-free immmunosensors used for determination of different chemical contaminants in food responsible for the risk of food poisoning, are presented. Measuring methods were investigated for the determination of herbicide active ingredient trifluralin and biomarker protein vitellogenin for monitoring the pollution with endocrine disrupting chemicals, as well as for different mycotoxins (aflatoxin, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol) and microbials. High specificity/selectivity of the sensitised surface coupled with high sensitivity of OWLS detection gives the possibility to develop immunosensors and microbial sensors in most cases with definitely lower limits of detection than those in traditionally used immunoassays in direct/competitive formats.  Index Terms-optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy, nanobiosensor, agro-environmental safety, food safety I. EVANESCENT WAVE OPTICAL TECHNIQUES Nanotechnology has a multiple and rapidly expanding role in food industry. Nanomaterials are used in food production or inspection with their unique, nano-sized dispersity, or as novel methodologies utilizing Manuscript

Critical assessment of relevant methods in the field of biosensors with direct optical detection based on fibers and waveguides using plasmonic, resonance, and interference effects

“…These considerations are essential, especially in case of fluid handling in cell-based assays [256], and are discussed in detail for such instruments. Recently, the instrument has been used as a label-free biosensor in Agro-environmental and food safety [34]. OWLS has been compared with quartz crystal micro balance results for real-time direct detection of probiotic bacteria in fermented dairy products [257].…”