Recent Advances in Conventional Methods and Electrochemical Aptasensors for Mycotoxin Detection

Abstract

The presence of mycotoxins in foodstuffs and feedstuffs is a serious concern for human health. The detection of mycotoxins is therefore necessary as a preventive action to avoid the harmful contamination of foodstuffs and animal feed. In comparison with the considerable expense of treating contaminated foodstuffs, early detection is a cost-effective way to ensure food safety. The high affinity of bio-recognition molecules to mycotoxins has led to the development of affinity columns for sample pre-treatment and the development of biosensors for the quantitative analysis of mycotoxins. Aptamers are a very attractive class of biological receptors that are currently in great demand for the development of new biosensors. In this review, the improvement in the materials and methodology, and the working principles and performance of both conventional and recently developed methods are discussed. The key features and applications of the fundamental recognition elements, such as antibodies and aptamers are addressed. Recent advances in aptasensors that are based on different electrochemical (EC) transducers are reviewed in detail, especially from the perspective of the diagnostic mechanism; in addition, a brief introduction of some commercially available mycotoxin detection kits is provided.

Recent Advances in Recognition Receptors for Electrochemical Biosensing of Mycotoxins—A Review

“…The word “aptamer” originated from the Latin word “aptus”, which means “to fit” [ 17 ]. Aptamers comprise 15–90 single-stranded synthetic nucleic acid chains, which might get folded into three dimensions and bind to a target varying from huge proteins to tiny molecules, such as amino acids or drugs, with extreme specificity and affinity [ 18 ].…”

“…Aptamers have proven to be cheap, easy to prepare, and exhibit higher stability. Since the invention of aptamers, beyond 2000 types of aptamers have been developed using the SELEX approach [ 17 ]. Synthetically prepared aptamers can be simply altered to extend their lifetime in the bloodstream, target them to specific locations, or permit their immobilization.…”

E-Nose Technology for Mycotoxin Detection in Feed: Ready for a Real Context in Field Application or Still an Emerging Technology?

“…In addition to conventional analytical methods, several authors recently evaluated electrochemical aptasensors for mycotoxin detection. Ong and co-workers [ 64 ] summarized, in a recent study, most recent advances in conventional methods and electrochemical aptasensors for mycotoxin detection. Considering this innovative technology, its main advantages are related to flexible modification of functional groups, high sensitivity, wide detection range of mycotoxin types due to its flexibility in electrode surface modification, simple operating procedure, and low cost of fabrication.…”

Nanoscale Materials Applying for the Detection of Mycotoxins in Foods

“…The unique size and structure of nanoscale materials allowed them to exhibit special electrical and optical properties. These distinct characteristics, different from those of macroscopic materials, have expanded the application of nanoscale materials in various fields and provided new research directions for food safety detection, especially mycotoxin detection [ 189 , 190 ].…”