Optical sensors for determination of biogenic amines in food

Alexandra I Danchuk,Sergey Yu Doronin,Alexey V Markin,Natalia A Burmistrova,Axel Duerkop,Nadezhda S Komova,Sarah N Mobarez

doi:10.1007/s00216-020-02675-9

Alexandra I Danchuk, Sergey Yu Doronin + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02675-9

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Abstract

This review presents the state-of-the-art of optical sensors for determination of biogenic amines (BAs) in food by publications covering about the last 10 years. Interest in the development of rapid and preferably on-site methods for quantification of BAs is based on their important role in implementation and regulation of various physiological processes. At the same time, BAs can develop in different kinds of food by fermentation processes or microbial activity or arise due to contamination, which induces toxicological risks and food poisoning and causes serious health issues. Therefore, various optical chemosensor systems have been devised that are easy to assemble and fast responding and low-cost analytical tools. If amenable to on-site analysis, they are an attractive alternative to existing instrumental analytical methods used for BA determination in food. Hence, also portable sensor systems or dipstick sensors are described based on various probes that typically enable signal readouts such as photometry, reflectometry, luminescence, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, or ellipsometry. The quantification of BAs in real food samples and the design of the sensors are highlighted and the analytical figures of merit are compared. Future instrumental trends for BA sensing point to the use of cell phone–based fully automated optical evaluation and devices that could even comprise microfluidic micro total analysis systems.

Highlights

Biogenic amines (BAs) are small organic molecules, which show high biological activity
This review focuses in detail on optical chemosensor systems for BA determination in quality control of real food
It has all the merits to become a viable on-site detection method provided that suitable selectivity can be obtained with a simple sample pretreatment

Summary

Introduction

Biogenic amines (BAs) are small organic molecules, which show high biological activity. A thiosemicarbazide–naphthalimide-based chromophore was investigated [13] as a highly sensitive probe for visual and colorimetric determination of different amines including BAs with a color change from yellow to blue The advantage of such a sensor is the regeneration capability of the chromophore (by trifluoroacetic acid) and the potential for a repeated colorimetric response. The absence of an excitation source makes instrumentation for these methods considerably simpler because just a light-tight detection cell, sample holder, light-collecting lens, and a sensitive photodiode are required This way, CL detection is even more simple than reflectometry or photometry, and CL sensors have the potential for miniaturization and on-site analysis. It has all the merits to become a viable on-site detection method provided that suitable selectivity can be obtained with a simple sample pretreatment

Conclusion and outlook

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