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•Most food-borne contaminations are ascribable to microbial pathogens, their toxins, and herbicides.•The applicability of electrochemical biosensors against food toxins has been ...assessed.•Nanomaterial derived biosensors offer rapid and sensitive detection of food toxins.•Current advances in the detection techniques for food toxins have been described.•The review will aid in the development of superior electrochemical biosensors for food toxins.
There is a growing demand to protect food products against the hazard of microbes and their toxins. To satisfy such goals, it is important to develop highly sensitive, reliable, sophisticated, rapid, and cost-effective sensing techniques such as electrochemical sensors/biosensors. Although diverse forms of nanomaterials (NMs)-based electrochemical sensing methods have been introduced in markets, the reliability of commercial products is yet insufficient to meet the practical goal. In this review, we focused on: 1) sources of pathogenic microbes and their toxins; 2) possible routes of their entrainment in food, and 3) current development of NM-based biosensors to realize real-time detection of the target analytes. At last, future prospects and challenges in this research field are discussed.
•Enzyme immobilization on MOFs is still at an early stage of development.•The use of porous MOFs can increase enzyme loading capacity and catalytic efficiency.•Different approaches for developing ...MOF-based biocatalytic platforms are evaluated.•Limitations associated with the fabrication of enzyme-MOF platforms are described.•There will be great demand on multi-enzyme–MOF platform with diverse functionality.•Scale-up processes and product purification are major goals for future research.
In the past few years, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have drawn increasing research interest as bio-immobilization support materials. The unique properties of MOFs, including tunable porosity, desirable functionality, extremely high surface area, and chemical/thermal stability, have motivated a considerable interest in exploiting them as a potential matrix for enzyme immobilization. Improvements in the biocatalyst efficiency, promising recyclability, enhanced accessibility to active sites, and a high loading capacity are the main features of the novel MOF–enzyme supports. This review aims to cover the recent progress in the application of MOFs as enzyme immobilization supports. We discuss different approaches used in the development of MOF–enzyme biocatalytic supports, such as surface adsorption, diffusion, and in-situ encapsulation. The trends in current developments and the significance of each strategy are critically reviewed in this paper.
Modern agricultural practices have triggered the process of agricultural pollution. This process can cause the degradation of eco-systems, land, and environment owing to the modern-day by-products of ...agriculture. The substantial use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and, contaminated water for irrigation cause further damage to agriculture. The current scenario of the agriculture and food sector has therefore become unsustainable. Nanotechnology has provided innovative and resourceful frontiers to the agriculture sector by contributing practical applications in conventional agricultural ways and practices. There is a large possibility that agri-nanotechnology can have a significant impact on the sustainable agriculture and crop growth. Recent research has shown the potential of nanotechnology in improving the agriculture sector by enhancing the efficiency of agricultural inputs and providing solutions to agricultural problems for improving food productivity and security. The prospective use of nanoscale agrochemicals such as nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, nanosensors, and nanoformulations in agriculture has transformed traditional agro-practices, making them more sustainable and efficient. However, the application of these nano-products in real field situations raises concern about nanomaterial safety, exposure levels, and toxicological repercussions to the environment and human health. The present review gives an insight into recent advancements in nanotechnology-based agrochemicals that have revolutionized the agriculture sector. Further, the implementation barriers related to the nanomaterial use in agriculture, their commercialization potential, and the need for policy regulations to assess possible nano-agricultural risks are also discussed.
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•The significance of ultraviolet radiation (UVC) for food processing is presented.•UVC based microbial inactivation for food products are affected by various factors.•UVC approach is ...an efficient and eco-friendly option for food processing/preservation.•International/national guidelines on UVC usage by various agencies are discussed.
The application of ultraviolet (UV) light in the food industry has held great promise for a long time. UVC light (200–280 nm) possesses excellent germicidal properties to inactivate a wide range of microbial pathogens (e.g., bacteria, fungi, yeasts, molds, and viruses). UVC technology can be used to effectively prevent foodborne illnesses while increasing the shelf life of food without compromising its quality by reducing the microbial load. UVC radiation processing of food depends on a variety of factors such as the operational parameters of the UVC equipment, microbial characteristics, and the composition of the food. Thus, the application of UVC irradiation is an emerging non-thermal technique for the decontamination of food products. This review describes the fundamentals of using UVC radiation to inactivate pathogenic microbes for the decontamination of foods (e.g., fruit and vegetable juices, milk and dairy products, meat products, beef, and seafood). At last, the current status of international regulations is discussed along with the future challenges in this research field.
Over the last decade MXenes have become a hotspot of materials science as one of the newest 2-dimensional (2D) materials. Upon the recognition of their distinctive features (e.g., superior optical ...characteristics, large surface area, excellent hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, ease of surface functionalization, and high conductivity), their potential in biosensing applications has also gained considerable attention. With versatility in MXene synthesis methods and suitable etching, MXenes can be easily transformed into quantum dots, nanosheets, and MXenes composites. As such, during the last decade optical biosensing platforms-based on MXenes have emerged along with electrochemical sensors and wearable sensors built from MXenes. Herein, we present a broad perspective on the optical properties of MXenes alongside recent findings on their biosensing applications, which are based on different optical transduction principles (e.g., photoluminescence, colorimetry, surface plasmon resonance, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and electro chemiluminescence). Furthermore, the future perspective and challenges concerning MXenes-based optical sensing techniques are discussed.
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•MXenes are the most recent 2D layered materials developed from MAX phases.•The top-down and bottom-up approaches of MXene synthesis are discussed.•The optical properties of MXenes are described for their biosensing applications.•The principles of MXenes-based optical biosensing platforms are described.•Future challenges and research in MXenes are addressed.
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•Food safety relies on monitoring antibiotics levels in food samples.•Accumulation of antibiotic residues in food products can harm human health.•Fluorescent sensors for antibiotics ...are highly sensitive and selective.•Fluorescent sensors are built with diverse nanomaterials and biological elements.•Performance of different nanomaterials in antibiotics detection are discussed.
Antibiotics are widely used as bacteriostatic or bactericidal agents against various microbial infections in humans and animals. The excessive use of antibiotics has led to an accumulation of their residues in food products, which ultimately poses a threat to human health. In light of the shortcomings of conventional methods for antibiotic detection (primarily cost, proficiency, and time-consuming procedures), the development of robust, accurate, on-site, and sensitive technologies for antibiotic detection in foodstuffs is important. Nanomaterials with amazing optical properties are promising materials for developing the next generation of fluorescent sensors. In this article, advances in detecting antibiotics in food products are discussed with respect to their sensing applications, with a focus on fluorescent nanomaterials such as metallic nanoparticles, upconversion nanoparticles, quantum dots, carbon-based nanomaterials, and metal–organic frameworks. Furthermore, their performance is evaluated to promote the continuation of technical advances.
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•Highly photoluminescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized using citric acid and polyethyleneimine.•The CQDs were conjugated to anti-aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) antibody for ...nanosensor development.•The nanosensor displayed a LOD of 0.07 ng/mL for AFM1.•CQDs-based lateral flow assay is demonstrated for AFM1 detection in milk.
Currently, there is a great demand for simple, sensitive, and accurate sensors for aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in dairy products. In the present research, a novel fluorescent immunosensor based on nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (CQDs) has been developed for AFM1 analysis. The N-doped CQDs were synthesized through the hydrothermal approach using citric acid and polyethyleneimine as precursors. The CQDs showed bright blue emission under ultraviolet light irradiation and a maximum emission was observed at 450 nm upon excitation at 350 nm. The anti-AFM1 antibody (Ab) was immobilized on the as-obtained amine-functionalized CQDs and the obtained CQDs/Ab probe was then directly used for developing the immunoassays for AFM1. The fluorescence of the CQDs/Ab solution was effectively quenched in the presence of increasing AFM1 concentrations. Under the optimized conditions, the fluorescent nanosensor exhibited high sensitivity towards AFM1 in the range of 0.2–0.8 ng/mL with low limit of detection i.e., 0.07 ng/mL in standard buffer. Furthermore, the CQDs/Ab immunosensor was developed as a lateral flow design for detecting the aflatoxin residues in milk. This strategy can be used for the development of low-cost, rapid, and highly sensitive sensor strips for the detection of AFM1 in dairy products.
Lead (Pb) poisoning has been a scourge to the human to pose sighnificant health risks (e.g., organ disorders, carcinogenicity, and genotoxicity) as observed from many different parts of the world, ...especially in developing countries. The demand for accurate sensors for its detection, especially in environmental media (soil, water, food, etc.) has hence been growing steadily over the years. The potential utility of fluorescent nanosensors as an important analytical tool is recognized due to their astonishing characteristics (e.g., high sensitivity/selectivity, enhanced detection performance, low cost, portability, and rapid on-site detection ability). This review is organized to offer insight into the recent developments in fluorescent nanosensing technology for the detection of lead ions (Pb2+). To this end, different types of nanomaterials explored for such applications have been classified and evaluated with respect to performance, especially in terms of sensitivity. This review will help researchers gain a better knowledge on the status and importance of optical nanosensors so as to remediate the contamination of lead and associated problems. The technical challenges and prospects in the development of nanosensing systems for Pb2+ are also discussed.
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•Contamination of lead is tightly associated with lead poisoning in humans and animals.•Fluorescent nanosensors developed for the detection of Pb2+ have been reviewed.•The types of fluorescent nanomaterials used in sensor are classified and evaluated.•Performance comparison is after all made between different optical nano sensing options.
To produce a sensitive and specific biosensor for Staphylococcus aureus, bacteriophages have been interfaced with a water-dispersible and environmentally stable metal–organic framework (MOF), ...NH2-MIL-53(Fe). The conjugation of the MOF with bacteriophages has been achieved through the use of glutaraldehyde as cross-linker. Highly sensitive detection of S. aureus in both synthetic and real samples was realized by the proposed MOF–bacteriophage biosensor based on the photoluminescence quenching phenomena: limit of detection (31 CFU/mL) and range of detection (40 to 4 × 108 CFU/mL). This is the first report exploiting the use of an MOF–bacteriophage complex for the biosensing of S. aureus. The results of our study highlight that the proposed biosensor is more sensitive than most of the previous methods while exhibiting some advanced features like specificity, regenerability, extended range of linear detection, and stability for long-term storage (even at room temperature).
The advent of modern biomedical science has led to various accomplishments such as the early detection of genetic disorders. To pursue further advancement in this field, the development of highly ...specific, sensitive, and economical probes for DNA may be an emerging imperative. Due to the diverse merits of nanomaterials (e.g., cost-effective, rapid, and precise detection capabilities with improved detection limits), nanomaterial technology has made itself a viable option for designing new and advanced sensors. At present, the techniques for sensing DNA are primarily based upon biosensing approaches. This review article highlights the recent developments in nanotechnology as a potential platform for the detection of DNA. We further identify the present bottlenecks and future scope for the advancement of nanostructure-based DNA sensors and describe the research needs in associated areas.
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