Abstract
Population growth and increased production demands on fruit and vegetables have driven agricultural production to new heights. Nevertheless, agriculture remains one of the least optimized industries, with laboratory tests that take days to provide a clear result on the chemical level of produce. To address this problem, we developed a tailor-made solution for the industry that can allow multiple field tests on key pesticides, based on a bioelectric cell biosensor and the measurement of the cell membrane potential changes, according to the principle of the Bioelectric Recognition Assay (BERA). We developed a fully functional system that operates using a newly developed hardware for multiple data sources and an Android application to provide results within 3 min. The presence of acetamiprid residues caused a cell membrane hyperpolarization, which was distinguishable from the control samples. A database that classified samples Below or Above Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) was then created, based on a newly developed algorithm. Additionally, lettuce samples were analyzed with the conventional and the newly developed method, in parallel, revealing a high correlation on sample classification. Thus, it was demonstrated that the novel biosensor system could be used in the food supply chain to increase the number of tested products before they reach the market.
Highlights
Over the last years, significant concerns about public health, environmental quality, as well as food safety have been on the rise, due to the large quantities of pesticides used in production on a daily basis [1]
We report the development of a new version of a portable Bioelectric Recognition Assay (BERA)-type sensor for field application based on mammalian cells, which have been “membrane-engineered” with an anti-acetamiprid monoclonal antibody
The novel portable sensor is combined with a sophisticated algorithm embedded in a user-friendly software, obtaining an automated result in a smartphone, without the need of examining the biosensor response data by the user
Summary
Significant concerns about public health, environmental quality, as well as food safety have been on the rise, due to the large quantities of pesticides used in production on a daily basis [1]. It is well-known that pesticides are potentially toxic to humans and that the level of risk is directly related to the rate of daily intake of chemically contaminated food [2]. Use of acetamiprid is banned in many countries, because of the Biosensors 2020, 10, 8; doi:10.3390/bios10020008 www.mdpi.com/journal/biosensors
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