Illness as the result of ingesting bacterially contaminated foodstuffs represents a significant annual loss of human quality of life and economic impact globally. Significant research investment has ...recently been made in developing new materials that can be used to construct food contacting tools and surfaces that might minimize the risk of cross‐contamination of bacteria from one food item to another. This is done to mitigate the spread of bacterial contamination and resultant foodborne illness. Internet‐based literature search tools such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus were utilized to investigate publishing trends within the last 10 years related to the development of antimicrobial and antifouling surfaces with potential use in food processing applications. Technologies investigated were categorized into four major groups: antimicrobial agent–releasing coatings, contact‐based antimicrobial coatings, superhydrophobic antifouling coatings, and repulsion‐based antifouling coatings. The advantages for each group and technical challenges remaining before wide‐scale implementation were compared. A diverse array of emerging antimicrobial and antifouling technologies were identified, designed to suit a wide range of food contact applications. Although each poses distinct and promising advantages, significant further research investment will likely be required to reliably produce effective materials economically and safely enough to equip large‐scale operations such as farms, food processing facilities, and kitchens.
Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) techniques are critical to analytical chemistry, and thus the analysis of microplastics. Procedural blanks are a key component of QA/QC for quantifying ...and characterizing background contamination. Although procedural blanks are becoming increasingly common in microplastics research, how researchers acquire a blank and report and/or use blank contamination data varies. Here, we use the results of laboratory procedural blanks from a method evaluation study to inform QA/QC procedures for microplastics quantification and characterization. Suspected microplastic contamination in the procedural blanks, collected by 12 participating laboratories, had between 7 and 511 particles, with a mean of 80 particles per sample (±SD 134). The most common color and morphology reported were black fibers, and the most common size fraction reported was 20–212 μm. The lack of even smaller particles is likely due to limits of detection versus lack of contamination, as very few labs reported particles <20 μm. Participating labs used a range of QA/QC techniques, including air filtration, filtered water, and working in contained/‘enclosed’ environments. Our analyses showed that these procedures did not significantly affect blank contamination. To inform blank subtraction, several subtraction methods were tested. No clear pattern based on total recovery was observed. Despite our results, we recommend commonly accepted procedures such as thorough training and cleaning procedures, air filtration, filtered water (e.g., MilliQ, deionized or reverse osmosis), non-synthetic clothing policies and ‘enclosed’ air flow systems (e.g., clean cabinet). We also recommend blank subtracting by a combination of particle characteristics (color, morphology and size fraction), as it likely provides final microplastic particle characteristics that are most representative of the sample. Further work should be done to assess other QA/QC parameters, such as the use of other types of blanks (e.g., field blanks, matrix blanks) and limits of detection and quantification.
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•Results from a method evaluation study inform QA/QC.•Procedural contamination is common in microplastics samples.•Laboratory and/or field blanks are essential to microplastics research.•Future work should inform methods to reduce and report contamination.
The growing global concern about human exposure to microplastics necessitates research into their occurrence, fate, and effects. Recent advancements in analytical methods have fostered research and ...improved understanding of microplastics in a variety of human tissue and biological samples, including blood, liver, lung, placenta, kidney, spleen, sputum, and feces, etc. Given the rapid expansion of this research topic, it is imperative to assess and introduce them to a broader audience. This article for the first time conducts a systematic review of the literature on microplastics in human biological samples, their objectives, current efforts, and key findings. This review offers an in-depth analysis of the research approaches employed, spanning from sampling to detection to quantification of microplastics, as well as an overview of their occurrence and characteristics to understand the level of microplastic exposure in the human body. It also provides a detailed analysis of existing contamination control procedures and attempts to build consistent cross-contamination prevention measures. Finally, we provide the reader with the guidelines on current microplastic research strategies, highlighting future directions. Overall, this synthesis will assist researchers in developing a multifaceted understanding of contemporary microplastic investigations in human biological samples.
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•A review of recent advances made on microplastics (MPs) in humans is presented.•Methods for obtaining and characterizing MPs in human biological samples are evaluated.•Common challenges in current contamination prevention measures are described.•MPs abundance and their characteristics are summarized.•Prospects for current challenges and future investigations are explored.
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•Contamination control measures were assessed for their importance and compliance.•Studies sampling microplastics in 2019 only complied with 4 out of 10 parameters.•Without proper ...control measures contamination may occur.•Lack of contamination control measures hinder comparisons and risk assessment.
Microplastics are widely distributed environmental contaminants. To understand their impacts on the environment and health, more high-quality results are needed. Since microplastics are present in every environment, including indoor air, proper precautions must be adopted in order to prevent contamination of samples and overestimation of environmental concentrations. Thus, to guarantee a proper quality of results, researchers must adopt strict contamination control measures. This review was conducted to understand current contamination control practices. A total of 50 studies published in 2019 were reviewed, including sampling of biota, air, soil, sediment, freshwater and saltwater, regarding 10 contamination control parameters. Overall, studies usually only comply with 4 out of 10 of these measures, which include avoiding the use of plastic materials, covering samples with glass lids or aluminum foil, filtering solutions, or running procedural blanks. The importance of these measures is also exemplified with real observation of contamination. Finally, seven measures to control for contamination are suggested in order to improve the quality of results in microplastic sampling in future assessments.
The presence of Salmonella in foodstuffs represents an internationally accepted human health concern. Although Salmonella causes many foodborne disease outbreaks, there is little evidence to support ...cross-contamination as a major contributing factor. However, the paramount importance of preventing cross-contamination and recontamination in assuring the safety of foodstuffs is well known. Sources and factors linked to cross-contamination and recontamination of Salmonella in foods are reviewed in detail. Those foods which are not submitted to lethal treatment at the end of processing or which do not receive further treatment in the home deserves special attention. Salmonella cross-contamination and recontamination episodes have been connected to the following factors: poor sanitation practices, poor equipment design, and deficient control of ingredients. We also examine potential cross-contamination in the home. Cross-contamination and recontamination events at factory level evidence the difficulty encountered for eradicating this pathogen from the environment and facilities, highlighting the need to reinforce industry preventive control measures such as appropriate and standardized sanitation. Also, at consumer level, Public Health Authorities should install hygiene education programs in order to raise consumer awareness of the risks of cross-contamination in the home and their role in its prevention. Finally, a review on cross-contamination models of Salmonella spp. is presented.
ABSTRACT
Tumor‐derived cell lines play an important role in the investigation of tumor biology and genetics. Across a wide array of studies, they have been tools of choice for the discovery of ...important genes involved in cancer and for the analysis of the cellular pathways that are impaired by diverse oncogenic events. They are also invaluable for screening novel anticancer drugs. The TP53 protein is a major component of multiple pathways that regulate cellular response to various types of stress. Therefore, TP53 status affects the phenotype of tumor cell lines profoundly and must be carefully ascertained for any experimental project. In the present review, we use the 2014 release of the UMD TP53 database to show that TP53 status is still controversial for numerous cell lines, including some widely used lines from the NCI‐60 panel. Our analysis clearly confirms that, despite numerous warnings, the misidentification of cell lines is still present as a silent and neglected issue, and that extreme care must be taken when determining the status of p53, because errors may lead to disastrous experimental interpretations. A novel compendium gathering the TP53 status of 2,500 cell lines has been made available (http://p53.fr). A stand‐alone application can be used to browse the database and extract pertinent information on cell lines and associated TP53 mutations. It will be updated regularly to minimize any scientific issues associated with the use of misidentified cell lines (http://p53.fr).
We have used the 2014 release of the UMD TP53 database to show that TP53 status is still controversial for numerous cell lines, including some widely used lines from the NCI‐60 panel. Our analysis clearly confirms that, despite numerous warnings, the misidentification of cell lines is still present as a silent and neglected issue, and that extreme care must be taken when determining the status of p53, because errors may lead to disastrous experimental interpretations. A novel compendium gathering the TP53 status of 2,500 cell lines has been made available (http://p53.fr).
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•Biomass waste-derived biochar with a novel nanoflake self-assembly is presented.•Both heavy metals and organic pollutants can be treated efficiently by the biochar.•A synergistically ...physical/chemical adsorption behaviors is elucidated.•Biochar has a potential application for treating cross contamination in industry.
With the presence of emerging organic pollutants (EOPs) in aqueous systems, the heavy metals (HMs)-transfer mechanism has been given considerable attention again. Here, a facile molten-salt method is used to successfully convert banana waste into nanoflake-assembled biochar (BC350) for the first time. It is a type of macro-mesoporous biochar with a pore size composed of ~ 3.8 nm and ~ 50 nm, and its maximum adsorption capacities are 459 mg g−1 for Pb2+ and 148 mg g−1 for tetracycline (TC), which outperforms the reported adsorbents ranging from several times to dozens of times. The pore-filling effect, electrostatic interaction, coordination affinities and π-π stacking as synergistically physical/chemical adsorption behaviors of BC350 on Pb2+/TC that has been comprehensively elucidated relying on adsorption kinetics and isotherms, and key effect parameter investigation. The competitive adsorption effect becomes insignificantly in the adsorption efficiency of BC350 on Pb2+/TC cross contamination at a control condition. Moreover, BC350 also exhibits outstanding adsorption efficiency (>95%) on Pb2+/TC in five industrial wastewater samples. This study contributes to a plausible mechanism in biochar adsorption removal of metal/organics cross contamination and its potential application explored in industrial wastewater treatment.
Immortalized or continuous cell lines are invaluable tools in basic and preclinical research. However, the widespread use of misidentified cell lines is a serious threat to scientific ...reproducibility. Based on the experiences of mandatory cell line authentication at the International Journal of Cancer (IJC), we provide an overview of the issues pertinent to misidentified cell lines and discuss available solutions. We also summarize the lessons learned, revealing that at least 5% of the human cell lines used in manuscripts considered for peer review are misidentified. About 4% of the considered manuscripts are rejected for severe cell line problems, and most are subsequently published in other journals. In order to diminish such malpractice and its consequences for the scientific record, we postulate that strict multi‐layered quality control is essential. Besides journals and publishers, we encourage scientists, research institutions, and funders to take action on the matter and revise their respective policies. Hence, we provide concrete recommendations on introducing regular authentication schemes and staff training, and discuss future steps for enhancing good cell culture practices.
This commentary discusses multi‐layered quality control of immortalized cell lines as an essential prerequisite for reliability of the scientific record and good cell culture practices.
Background and Objectives
Cross‐contamination of foodborne pathogens from equipment to food is a food safety concern. The objective of this study was to quantify the amount of Escherichia coli ...contamination in mill equipment after milling inoculated and noninoculated wheat in single milling run.
Findings
Mill equipment used for milling inoculated kernels contained substantial amounts of E. coli. The hoppers, feeders, rollers, and break system sifter surfaces had higher E. coli counts compared to other surfaces sampled (2.0–3.6 log CFU/100 cm2). Surfaces from the break system of the mill had higher counts in general compared to the sizing/reduction system. The majority of equipment surfaces had nonquantifiable E. coli counts after milling noninoculated kernels indicating cross‐contamination of E. coli from contaminated equipment to mill fractions.
Conclusions
The findings indicate that E. coli could easily transfer from wheat kernels into milling equipment and vice‐versa. This demonstrates that mill equipment is a viable route for E. coli contamination during milling and that cleaning and sanitation practices could be focused on the surfaces mentioned in this study to reduce cross‐contamination risk.
Significance and Novelty
The findings from this study could help determine surfaces where microbial contamination could accumulate, which could improve mill cleaning and sanitation practices.
Continuous human cell lines have been used extensively as models for biomedical research. In working with these cell lines, researchers are often unaware of the risk of cross‐contamination and other ...causes of misidentification. To reduce this risk, there is a pressing need to authenticate cell lines, comparing the sample handled in the laboratory to a previously tested sample. The American Type Culture Collection Standards Development Organization Workgroup ASN‐0002 has developed a Standard for human cell line authentication, recommending short tandem repeat (STR) profiling for authentication of human cell lines. However, there are known limitations to the technique when applied to cultured samples, including possible genetic drift with passage. In our study, a dataset of 2,279 STR profiles from four cell banks was used to assess the effectiveness of the match criteria recommended within the Standard. Of these 2,279 STR profiles, 1,157 were grouped into sets of related cell lines—duplicate holdings, legitimately related samples or misidentified cell lines. Eight core STR loci plus amelogenin were used to unequivocally authenticate 98% of these related sets. Two simple match algorithms each clearly discriminated between related and unrelated samples, with separation between related samples at ≥80% match and unrelated samples at <50% match. A small degree of overlap was noted at 50–79% match, mostly from cell lines known to display variable STR profiles. These match criteria are recommended as a simple and effective way to interpret results from STR profiling of human cell lines.
What's new?
Short tandem repeat (STR) profiling is the recommended approach for authentication testing of human cell lines. To improve its effectiveness, however, a method by which STR can account for genetic drift arising from the passage of malignant cells is needed. Here, algorithms based on a set of match criteria, eight core STR loci, and amelogenin analysis were found to successfully discriminate between related and unrelated samples. The match criteria used here would bring greater rigor to the interpretation of STR profiling results.
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