Abstract
Mycotoxin contamination of food and feed is now ubiquitous. Exposures to mycotoxin via contact or ingestion can potentially induce adverse health outcomes. Affordable mycotoxin-monitoring systems are highly desired but are limited by (a) the reliance on technically challenging and costly molecular recognition by immuno-capture technologies; and (b) the lack of predictive tools for directing the optimization of alternative molecular recognition modalities. Our group has been exploring the development of ochratoxin detection and monitoring systems using the peptide NFO4 as the molecular recognition receptor in fluorescence, electrochemical and multimodal biosensors. Using ochratoxin as the model mycotoxin, we share our perspective on addressing the technical challenges involved in biosensor fabrication, namely: (a) peptide receptor design; and (b) performance evaluation. Subsequently, the scope and utility of molecular modeling and simulation (MMS) approaches to address the above challenges are described. Informed and enabled by phage display, the subsequent application of MMS approaches can rationally guide subsequent biomolecular engineering of peptide receptors, including bioconjugation and bioimmobilization approaches to be used in the fabrication of peptide biosensors. MMS approaches thus have the potential to reduce biosensor development cost, extend product life cycle, and facilitate multi-analyte detection of mycotoxins, each of which positively contributes to the overall affordability of mycotoxin biosensor monitoring systems.
Highlights
Over the past 2–3 decades, increasing globalization has drastically improved the access to food and feed beyond one’s geographical boundaries
While it isnecessarily often assumed that the mycotoxin binding behavior of a peptide in-solution is replicated of the molecular recognition receptor, in the fabrication of the biotransducer using that receptor, and even wheninthe is processes chemically modified chemically conjugated for labeling the peptide operational associated with for the immobilization, use of that biotransducer can promote, inhibit or and/or physicochemically on aand solid support, this assumption may not necessarily have no effect on theimmobilized in-solution affinities selectivity of the biological recognition molecule
Challenges faced in the identification, biomolecular design and engineering, and fabrication of molecular recognition receptors will be discussed under two broad categories: (1) screening for peptide receptors with mycotoxin specificity; and (2) sub-molecular processes influencing the performance of molecular recognition receptors
Summary
Over the past 2–3 decades, increasing globalization has drastically improved the access to food and feed beyond one’s geographical boundaries. The limited affordability of antibody-based sensing elements have affected the self-hapten monitoring/regulatory capacity of the producers and most mycotoxins are commercially available and widely used in immunoassays. The limited affordability of antibody-based sensing elements have affected the self-hapten monitoring/regulatory capacity of the producers and regulatory groups from low-income economies, risking the introduction of mycotoxins thefrom foodlow-income and feed supply chains [2,16,17]. Over on thepeptides last decade, detection or immobilization purposes, biosensing recognition receptors based areaoften variety of platforms based on immobilized peptides have been developed against a variety of considered more cost-effective than antibody-based sensing elements [33].
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