Abstract
The presence of antimicrobial residues in food-producing animals can lead to harmful effects on the consumer (e.g., allergies, antimicrobial resistance, toxicological effects) and cause issues in food transformation (i.e., cheese, yogurts production). Therefore, to control antimicrobial residues in food products of animal origin, screening methods are of utmost importance. Microbiological and immunological methods (e.g., ELISA, dipsticks) are conventional screening methods. Biosensors are an innovative solution for the development of more performant screening methods. Among the different kinds of biosensing elements (e.g., antibodies, aptamers, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP), enzymes), aptamers for targeting antimicrobial residues are in continuous development since 2000. Therefore, this review has highlighted recent advances in the development of aptasensors, which present multiple advantages over immunosensors. Most of the aptasensors described in the literature for the detection of antimicrobial residues in animal-derived food products are either optical or electrochemical sensors. In this review, I have focused on optical aptasensors and showed how nanotechnologies (nanomaterials, micro/nanofluidics, and signal amplification techniques) largely contribute to the improvement of their performance (sensitivity, specificity, miniaturization, portability). Finally, I have explored different techniques to develop multiplex screening methods. Multiplex screening methods are necessary for the wide spectrum detection of antimicrobials authorized for animal treatment (i.e., having maximum residue limits).
Highlights
A change of mass can be detected with mass-sensitive (e.g., quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), surface acoustic wave (SAW)) or optical biosensors (e.g., surface plasmon resonance (SPR)); A change of its structure and/or conformation, to fully interact with the target, could be detected by optical or electrochemical biosensors, when, for instance, the 30 and 50 extremities of the aptamer are labeled with specific tags (e.g., pairs fluorophores (e.g., carboxyfluorescein (FAM), cyanine)—quenchers (e.g., nanomaterials (e.g., quantum dots (QDs), gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)), or electrochemical tags (methylene blue (MB), ferrocene))
There is still a long way to cover prior we develop optimal aptasensors for the screening of antimicrobial residues in food products
AAP, anchor aptamer probe on fiber; ABEI, N-(4-aminobutyl)-N-ethylisoluminol; AgNPs, silver nanoparticles; Apt, aptamer; Au@Ag NSs, Au core-Ag shell nanostructures; AuNCs, gold nanoclusters; AuNFs, flower-like gold nanostructures; AuNPs, gold nanoparticles; cDNA, complementary DNA; Cy5, cyanine 5; ECL, electrochemiluminescence; FQ-EWA, evanescent wave aptasensors based on target binding facilitated fluorescence quenching; graphene oxides (GO), graphene oxide; 4-MBA, 4-mercaptobenzoic acid; MCNCs-PMAA-MNs, magnetite colloid nanocrystal clusters-polymethacrylic acid magnetic nanospheres; MNPs, magnetic nanoparticles; OTC, oxytetracycline; PIP, P-iodophenol; PLNPs, persistent luminescence nanoparticles; RRSS, resonance Rayleigh scattering spectra; Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS), surface-enhanced Raman scattering; SPEET, surface plasmon enhanced energy transfer; SPLPt(II), square-planar luminescent platinum(II) complex; SPR, surface plasmon resonance
Summary
Antimicrobials are administered to farm animals for curative purposes. antimicrobial residues could be found in animal food products (e.g., milk, meat, eggs, honey, fish), depending on the pharmacokinetic properties of the veterinary medicines. Some antimicrobial residues are allowed to be present, but below a fixed concentration, called the maximum residue limit (MRL), which is set in the European regulation [1,2]. Some other antimicrobial residues are banned for livestock animals, due to toxicological risks (e.g., nephrotoxicity, genotoxicity) These substances have to be detected at as low concentrations as possible, which are often below regulatory limits called reference point for action (RPA) [2,3]. According to the European Union regulation [4], all the member states organize national residue monitoring plans (NRMP) for the control of antimicrobial residues in animal-derived food products. Each European Union member state is free to use the screening method of their choice, providing that the method has been validated according to the EU regulation [5]
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